Gale of Memories
by SilvermistAnimeLover
Summary: MiM makes the Guardians travel through Jack's memories in an attempt to bring everyone closer together. How will they react to his mortal life? How will they react to his 300 years of solitude? Jack has secrets that he never wanted anyone to know. Too late, now.
1. Chapter 1: MiM

_**A/N: Okay everyone. I've decided to try something new. This is my first time venturing out of the Hetalia Fandom, so please go easy on me. I'm still getting a feel for everyone's characters. That being said, please feel free to comment and let me know what you think~! I'm still writing this, so updates will likely be few and far between once I catch up to where I'm at. Please enjoy!**_

 _ **This is the Guardians watching Jack's past (Immortal memories included).**_

 _ **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Rise of the Guardians.**_

 _ **Chapter 1: MiM**_

It had been two years since Pitch's defeat, and Jack Frost had never been happier. He had a room at the Pole all to himself, and could come and go as he pleased. He could annoy Bunny whenever he wanted—except on Easter—and he could visit Tooth at any time, too. And Sandy came by for a visit at _least_ once a week, if not every night or two. For the first time in his immortal life, he wasn't alone anymore, and that thought alone made him smile.

Baby Tooth squeaked happily as Jack flashed her a grin. "Hey Baby Tooth. Come for another visit?" The little fairy had become rather attached to Jack, and the two usually spent their time together. She nodded, and settled herself down on his shoulder, making herself comfortable. He chuckled, and scratched under her beak—her favorite spot. She nearly fell off when she leaned into his touch.

He came out to the Globe Room, ready to attend the meeting with the rest of the Guardians. He still had trouble believing it himself. _He_ , Jack Frost, was a _Guardian_! Oh, the other spirits hadn't been happy about that. That was one of the main reasons he'd moved in with North at the Pole—not that they knew that. Sure, he still practically lived at his Lake in the wintertime, but he steered far away from it during any other season. And whenever he'd visit Jamie and his friends in his off-season, he'd be extra careful to take someone—even if it was just Baby Tooth—with him. He did _not_ want a repeat of 1812, thank you very much.

The other four were already there, looking somewhat impatient. _Geez, I'm only three minutes late._ "Oh, _there_ you are, Frostbite!" Bunny glared at Jack. "Took your sweet time, didn't ya?"

"Oh, get over yourself, Cottontail. I'm only three minutes late." He waved off Bunny's ire.

"Well, now that everyone's here, we can start meeting!" North proclaimed, but Sandy noticed something that the others hadn't. He waved, trying to get their attention, but North and Bunny had somehow gotten into _another_ argument about whose holiday was better, and Tooth had gotten distracted by her fairies again. Jack, however, noticed and stuck two fingers in his mouth. The sharp whistle instantly silenced the argument, causing the group to stare at Jack in surprise. He just pointed to Sandy, who pointed to Manny.

"Ah, Man in Moon! Why did you not say something sooner?" Jack and Sandy twitched in annoyance as North turned back to MiM. "What have you to tell us, old friend?"

The moonlight grew brighter, and they heard a voice. _"My Guardians."_ Jack stiffened. Even though he'd become a Guardian two years ago, he hadn't heard MiM's voice since he was reborn. It was just as he remembered it. _"I realize that you are not as close as I've intended you to be. To remedy this, you must learn about your newest member."_ They all looked at Jack.

"What d'ya mean? We already know about Frostbite." Bunnymund cut in, confused. What more was there to know about the kid? He liked snow, and messing with Easter.

" _Exactly that, Aster. There is more to Jack than you all realize. Things he's seen that you must understand and accept if he is to ever fully trust any of you."_ Manny continued.

"But does he not trust us already?" North asked, confused, looking between MiM and Jack. Jack glared in frustration at the moon.

"Don't _I_ get a say in this? I mean, what're you planning to do, show them my memories or something?" Jack twitched, annoyed that everyone was talking like he wasn't even there.

" _Yes."_ The reply sounded somewhat sheepish, like he knew Jack was going to explode at the answer. Instead, he twitched. Several times.

"Which _ones_?" Jack asked carefully, taking several calming breaths. He wasn't exactly happy at the blatant invasion of privacy, and he wasn't exactly fond of Manny after so many years of isolation, but maybe… he'd be able to put his doubts of their care for him to rest if they knew everything. And there was no way in Hell that he'd be able to explain everything to them by himself. In all honesty, part of him agreed with MiM's decision, even if he didn't like it.

" _Mortal and immortal. Including Pitch's defeat."_ Jack was quiet for a few minutes, thinking over everything. Everyone shifted from foot to foot; uncomfortable with the prospect of invading Jack's privacy, though they'd admit that they were curious. What had he done for the three hundred years of his life before he became a Guardian? North wanted to know what kinds of friends he made, and Bunny wanted to see why the kid caused so much trouble, because _surely_ there was a reason? Tooth wanted to know what sort of hobbies he had, and Sandy just wanted to be there for him. Sandy was the only one who had any idea of just how alone Jack was for those years, because he was the only one who bothered to try to help the child before he was chosen.

"Fine." Jack finally relented, surprising the Guardians and Manny.

" _R-really? Just like that?"_ MiM stuttered.

"Not like I can really stop you or anything." Jack shrugged. "Besides… If everything comes out in the open now, then… I won't have to worry about things being revealed at a bad time or something." He turned to the Guardians. "I'd rather be as open and honest with you all as I can be, and if that means showing you my past, then so be it." _Even if I don't want to._

"Things being revealed? Like what? You wearin' footie pajamas?" Bunny snorted, but his mind went to Easter of '68. Maybe he'd finally learn what happened?

" _Very well, then. We shall start with Jack's Human Childhood."_ The moonlight grew to encompass the five Guardians and Baby Tooth, who was still seated on Jack's shoulder. The light grew brighter and brighter until they had to close their eyes. Next thing they knew, the world faded away into a sea of white.


	2. Chapter 2: Meet Jackson

_**Chapter 2: Meet Jackson**_

When they came to, they found themselves surrounded by a large and lively forest. Bunnymund in particular was rather comfortable in the scenery, and smiled softly to himself, remembering when most of the world was so wild. "Hey, Frostbite. When are we?" He asked, seeing a house in the distance through the foliage.

" _Guardians."_ MiM spoke, startling everyone. _"Jack is four, here."_

"Well, in that case, if I'm four, then it'd be… 1702." Jack supplied, making Bunny startle. Now that he thought about it, he didn't really know how old Jack was.

"Mate, you're from the 1700's?" He asked. With the way Jack acted, he didn't even seem two centuries old, sometimes.

"Yeah, I'm 316, if you include my mortal life." Jack shrugged, as he led the others to his old home. He teared up a little bit when he saw it. It'd been so long, and to be immersed in his memories again… "I missed home." He whispered under his breath. Bunny caught it, as did Baby Tooth, but neither said anything.

"What a pretty house!" Tooth smiled, as Jack led them _through_ the solid door and inside.

"How can we walk through stuff?!" Bunny demanded, after phasing through the door after North.

"Bunny! We are in memory!" North proclaimed. "We cannot change past, so we are not really here!"

"Mum! Mum! Why can't we pway outside?" A young boy with brown hair and eyes came running around the corner, tugging on his mother's dress.

"You had a brother?" Tooth asked, cooing over the child.

"Uhh… no, that… that's me." Jack looked away, embarrassed.

"What? But mate, hate ta break it ta ya, but you don't have brown hair." Bunny pointed out.

"Really? Never noticed." Jack rolled his eyes. "MiM changed my hair and eye color after I became an immortal." He explained.

"Oh, that's unusual! Most people don't get their appearance changed!" Tooth grinned.

"You mean you weren't?" Jack asked. He'd always assumed that Tooth had been human before she became a Guardian.

"Oh, no! I'm only half human!" She smiled. "Remind me to tell you more about that later, okay? But my heritage lets me understand any language! Even the animals!" She grinned.

"Whoa! Really? That's cool!" Jack's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Yeah, and North can speak some other non-human languages, too, can't you?" She turned to her companion.

"Haha! Of course I can! I can speak to bugs! I am also fluent in hamster and leech!" He puffed his chest out proudly. "How do you think I know if kids were naughty or nice? I ask pets." He laughed.

 _Leech? Why?_ Jack shook his head at the thought, turning back to the memory.

"Because, Jack. It's going to rain today. Didn't you see the clouds? I don't want you getting sick!" Jack's mother reprimanded him. He gave her the most adorable puppy dog eyes, making Tooth coo again.

"Oh, Jack~! You were so adorable!" Jack flushed a blue color, and looked away. _Not cute, damnit._

They heard the front door open and turned around to see a tall man with a dark tan, brown hair, hazel eyes and a kind face. "So where's the birthday boy?!" He grinned. Little Jack laughed and ran into the man's open arms.

"Daddy!" He squealed, laughing when the man swung him upside down and blew a raspberry into his belly.

"Welcome home, darling." Jack's mother greeted from the kitchen, where she was putting the finishing touches on dinner. "Just in time, too! Boys, dinner's ready!" At her call, the two paused before dashing into the kitchen.

Jack clamored into his chair. He would've knocked it over if his father hadn't been holding it steady for him. "Calm down, Jackson. The food's not running off anywhere." He chuckled.

The Guardians smiled at the adorable scene. Then they smelled the stew. North's belly rumbled. "Not fair! I thought this was memory?" He complained.

"Yeah. _My_ memory. I remember smelling things, too, ya know!" Jack pointed out. Though internally, he was salivating, too. He missed his mother's cooking, and having it so close…

The scene abruptly changed, showing an older, five-year-old Jack. _"Guardians… Jack is five in this memory."_ MiM supplied.

"Why the sudden jump?" Tooth asked, disappointed that she wouldn't get to see mini-Jack again. Jack shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe nothing overly important happened?" He guessed.

They watched as Jackson (Memory Jack) made his way through the town, a small basket of food in his little hands. He paused as a strong breeze blew past him, tilting his head. "Oh, really? I'd better hide this, then." He said before hiding the basket behind a pile of firewood.

"Jack? Who're you talking to?" Tooth wondered.

"The Wind." He answered, smiling softly.

"Wait, you mean you can actually _speak_ to the _wind_? Mate, that's pretty weird. I've only heard of Mother Nature doing that." Bunny crossed his arms. "And even then, you're still mortal here, mate."

"I know. But I've always been able to sort of hear the Wind's voice. Though North Wind—that's the cold one in the Northern Hemisphere—favors me the most, I can still hear South, East, and West. But North Wind's the clearest. They were very faint when I was still mortal." He explained, missing the look of wonder on North's face and the look of begrudging respect on Bunny's.

"Hey, Overland! What're you doin' out here? Isn't it past your bedtime?" A boy, looking to be around 12, sauntered over with his friends. He had brown hair and muddy green eyes. His face was pinched, and he looked very well fed. The Guardians disliked him on sight. This was only intensified when he shoved the hapless five-year-old, causing Jackson to land hard on his back.

"Hey! Now, that was uncalled for!" Bunny glared, wishing he could throw one of his paint bombs at him.

"Is in past, Bunny. But you're right. I believe he was always on Naughty List." North placed a hand on Bunny's shoulder to calm him.

Tooth was starting to work herself into a tizzy, and Baby Tooth chittered angrily at the boys.

"I don't want any trouble, Kevin." Jackson said quietly, looking at the ground. He was trying everything he could not to antagonize the kids. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to make a difference.

"Heard your mom's expecting. You're family's poor enough as it is! Maybe they'll have to eat _you_ to feed the newcomer!" He laughed, kicking hard at Jackson's leg.

"Don't talk about my family!" Jackson glared.

"Oooh! He's sooo scary!" Another boy laughed, kicking dirt into Jackson's eyes, causing him to hiss and try to remove the dirt.

"Don't think I've forgotten about that stupid mud you poured on me last week! I know it was you!" Kevin kicked at the child again, catching him in the ribs.

"You deserved it for making Megan cry!" Jackson yelled, trying to curl into himself to minimize the damage.

The Guardians stood there, unable to do anything as they watched a helpless five-year-old boy get beaten up. Sandy looked ready to kick these kids where the sun doesn't shine, but made himself stay calm for Jack's sake. After what felt like far too long, the boys finally grew bored and left.

"Oh, Sweet Tooth…" Tooth would've pulled Jack into a hug, but when she looked over at him, she saw him smiling.

"Don't worry about it, Tooth." He smirked. "I got 'em back later."

Jackson laid there for a few minutes, making sure that the boys had left before he got up and limped over to the wood pile from earlier. He pulled out the basket of food he'd hidden there, and slowly limped home. The Wind gently blew his hair to the side, and he smiled softly. "I know, but I'll be fine. Thanks again, Wind, for the heads up."

 _ **A/N: Merry Christmas everybody! I've had this chapter written for a bit, and since I've seen some interest in this story, I've decided to update it. Think of this like your gift, okay? ^^ And remember to comment~!**_

 _ **Words: 1,314**_

 _ **Pages: 3**_

 _ **Posted 12/25/2018**_


	3. Chapter 3: Pippa

**_Chapter 3: Pippa_**

The scene blurred, like someone fast-forwarding a movie. "Hey, what's going on?" Bunnymund staggered a bit, the blurriness making him lose his balance for a moment. Jack chuckled, finding the disorientation of the others amusing. Jack, himself, was mostly unaffected due to his experience riding the Wind. He was used to his environment blurring by.

When the scene finally came back into focus, Jackson had walked into the house to find it eerily quiet. Dinner was still set on the table, but a couple of chairs were knocked over, like his parents had left in a hurry. The Guardians looked around warily, unsure if there was an intruder or not.

Jack, on the other hand, was rather calm, and even somewhat excited. Though he didn't bother to inform the other Guardians that there wasn't really much amiss. Sandy was about to ask Jack directly about what was going on, when an ear-piercing agonizing scream came from upstairs.

"MUM!" Jack cried out, dashing up the crickety old stairs, the Guardians hot on his heels. Could something have happened to Jackson's mother?!

Another scream came from behind the door to his mother's bedroom, this time accompanied by a strained groan from his father.

"Ma! Pa! Are you okay?!" Jackson rushed into the bedroom, horrified by the blood all over his mother.

"J-Jackson!" His father, who'd been holding his wife's hand, came over to his son and ushered him out of the bedroom. He kneeled down, having closed the door behind them. "Listen, your mother is fine."

"No she's not! There's blood everywhere!" He protested.

"The baby's coming." He explained. "It happened when you came, and she's still here, right? It's natural. Don't worry so much about it, okay?" He ruffled his son's hair. "How about you and I warm up some dinner and get you fed?"

The immortals watching let out sighs of relief. "Aw, crikey! I thought something bad had happened!" Bunny's shoulders slumped in relief.

"I'm just glad everyone's okay." Tooth paused a moment. "Oh my gosh! Jack! You're a big brother! No wonder you're so good with kids!" She squealed, flittering around the white-haired guardian.

"Tooth is right!" North let out a booming laugh. "You are good with kids because you have younger sibling!"

They didn't register that the scene had sped up again, because the next thing they _did_ know, a midwife came out and informed Jackson and his father that they could now meet the newest member of their family.

Jackson hesitated when he came in. He'd been so excited to learn that he was going to be a big brother, and now… now he wasn't so sure. His father ushered him closer to his mother, who was holding a tiny bundle in her arms.

"Jack… Would you like to meet your new baby sister?" His mother asked, smiling. He perked up, now seeing the tiny baby cocooned in the blankets. He nodded, and his father carefully helped him hold her properly.

The moment Jackson looked down at the sleeping girl, he felt a fierce protectiveness well up inside. He would be the best big brother ever! "What's her name?" Jackson asked quietly, looking at his parents.

"We thought that you might like to give a suggestion." His father smiled, and Jackson lit up.

"Really?" He whispered, trying not to wake her. They nodded.

"Well then… Pippa. Pippa Overland." He smiled at the name. It was what the Wind had always called his sister, so it must've been her name wherever she came from.

"Pippa. I love it." His mother smiled, looking exhausted.

"Get some rest, darling. You did wonderful. Jackson and I can take it from here." His father gave her a kiss as she fell asleep. Jackson just looked back down at the bundle in his arms.

"Don't worry, Pippa! I'll be the best big brother ever! I'll show you all kids of fun, and I'll protect you no matter what!" He grinned, and his father gave him a proud smile.

"I know you will, Jackson, but for right now, it's past your bedtime. You don't want the Sandman to get sad because you won't enjoy his dreams, right?"

"N-no! I love the Sandman! And the Tooth Fairy! And Santa! And the Easter Bunny, too!" He let his father take his sister back. "I'll go to bed. I don't wanna make the Sandman sad."

Sandy smiled softly, finding the scene absolutely adorable. "Aww, Jack~ Did you really think Sandy would get lonely if you weren't there to enjoy his dreams?" Tooth asked.

"Well, growing up, my parents told me all kinds of stories about you guys. And since I never liked going to bed on time, they told me that if I missed my bedtime, the Sandman would think I didn't like the dreams he gave me, and then he'd get sad. It usually worked, too." Jack chuckled.

Sandy formed a little heart over his head, showing that he was grateful that Jack cared about his feelings.

The scene changed to show Jackson, now around ten, with a four-year old Pippa. _"Jack is nine in this memory."_ Manny supplied, making the group jump.

"Stop scarin' us!" Bunny muttered angrily.

"Come _on_ , Jack!" Pippa laughed as she bounced around. Her hair was brown and her chocolate eyes sparkled with excitement. She looked quite a bit like Sophie, Bunny realized. "It's Easter!" She cried with glee.

"I'm coming, Pips, I'm coming." Jackson laughed as his sister dragged him outside.

"Be careful, Jack! Watch after your sister." His mother called after them.

"We will!" Jackson replied, grinning.

"Ha! It's Easter." Bunny crossed his arms in victory, sending a smirk to North.

"Just because Easter is shown first does not mean is better." North reminded him.

"Enough. I don't want you two fighting right now." Tooth butt in sternly. The two boys crossed their arms and resolutely turned away from one another like children.

"Jack! Jack! I'm gonna get more eggs than you!" Pippa declared.

"Oh? We'll see! Just _don't_ go past the clearing." Jackson smirked. "Ready? GO!" He cried out, running ahead of his sister. He grabbed all the well-hidden eggs, and placed them in plain sight so his sister could get them. He grinned when he heard her cries of joy at finding the colorful treats. Of course, he put a few eggs in his own basket, too.

He got so caught up in his own little game of 're-hiding' the eggs, that he didn't realize when he stopped hearing his sister's joyous 'ah-ha's and 'oooh's.

When he did, however, he quickly retraced his steps, finding a trail of colorful eggs behind him. "Pippa?! Pippa?! Where are you?!" He asked, growing scared. If something happened to his sister…

The Guardians were also growing worried. She _was_ only four, after all. "Damnit! Why didn't I keep a closer eye on her?!" Jackson cursed himself, running through the thick forest until he came to a spot that had eggs behind him, but none before him. "She must've run off around here, somewhere." He looked around for a sign of her, but found no sign of a struggle.

Then, he heard a scream. "PIPPA!" He cried out, running in the direction of her voice. He finally reached a clearing, where his sister was lying on her side, curled up against the roots of a large tree, cowering in fear. A large wolf was circling her, figuring out the best angle to attack from. "Pippa!" Jackson called, drawing the attention of the wolf.

"Jack, you brave idiot!" Tooth smacked Jack upside the head.

"Ow!" He rubbed the sore spot, wincing.

The wolf turned away from the child and towards the boy, snarling. Jackson made a quick motion for Pippa to climb the tree, which she did remarkably fast. Jackson quickly spun and attempted to do the same thing, but slipped on a wet root, and fell. He turned in horror as the wolf leapt, aiming for his throat, but before a single claw or tooth could touch him, something flew out of nowhere and smacked the wolf upside the head.

With a yip and a growl, it turned towards the new threat. Bunnymund appeared from the bushes, boomerang in hand and a fierce look on his features. "Now, now. No need to go scarin' the kids. I've got your meal right here!" He smirked, throwing an egg-bomb as the wolf lunged. The force of the blow made the now yellow wolf second-guess his choice of prey, and he wisely backed off. He'd eat another day.

The Guardians let out a sigh of relief. "You didn't tell us you met Jack?" North raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't remember. I suppose he looked completely different, so I never put the pieces together. Plus it isn't uncommon for me to beat off a wolf or bear to protect a kid, ya know. Especially back then." Bunny reminded them. North had to admit—at least he only visited peoples houses. Easter was more dangerous than Christmas.

"Thanks for that, Kangaroo." Jack smirked.

"I'm a bunny!"

"Whoa… The Easter Bunny?! I thought you were a rabbit! You look like a kangaroo!" Jackson blurted out, making Pippa laugh.

"Hey, I am a bunny!" Bunnymund argued back.

"Thank you for saving us." Pippa chipped in, carefully climbing down from her tree.

"Yeah, thanks! You're way cooler than I thought you'd be!" Jackson grinned, admiring the immortal. Bunnymund chuckled.

"I'm just glad you were okay. Hey, I've got somethin' for ya. Most of the eggs in this area have already been found, so here!" He pulled out two large baskets filled to the brim with colorful eggs and candies. "Happy Easter, little ankle-biters." He smiled, handing over the baskets to the wide-eyed children.

"You know, my parents weren't too happy about that." Jack smirked.

"I'd think not. Knowin you and your sister, you two probably ran around on a sugar-high for days." Bunny laughed, glad he hadn't had to put up with it.

"Yeah, until Ma decided to confiscate the baskets and portion it out _for_ us." Jack pouted, remembering how unfair it had seemed at the time.

"Probably for the best! All that candy will rot your teeth!" Tooth crossed her arms. She didn't understand why Bunny and North couldn't just give out sugar-free candies!

Jack smirked. He'd _never_ tell Tooth, but he'd already corrupted Baby Tooth when he showed her dark chocolate. She'd fallen in love with the stuff. And marshmallows. He made her promise to never tell Tooth, which Baby Tooth was quick to agree. Sure, she brushed obsessively after every sugary indulgence, but she seemed to enjoy the new tastes. Jack found it adorable when the little fairy nearly fell into her first cup of hot cocoa, and landed atop a marshmallow he'd put in there instead. He still had the picture somewhere.

Bunnymund had guided the children back home, making sure they stayed safe and sound before he went on his way, and the memory ended.

The group found themselves in a white room with chairs, a table, couches, a kitchenette, and a fridge/freezer. The pantry also seemed to be stocked (the door was open).

"Where are we now, Frostbite?" Bunny asked. This didn't look like a memory.

 _"Guardians… I have created a break room for you, so you may rest at any time in the memories. No time will pass in the outside world while you are watching these memories or resting in the room. You may rest at any time, simply ask."_ Manny explained.

"Hey, would you mind dulling the color a bit? I mean, I'm fine with it since I'm immune to snow-blindness, but the others…?" Jack looked over at the other Guardians where were blinking against the white… everything.

Almost instantly, the room shifted into to warm browns and greens, much like Jack's own home was. _"To resume the memories, exit through the front door."_

"Cool, thanks." Jack waved his hand nonchalantly and made his way over to the fridge in search of a snack, like this sort of thing happened every day.

"Mate, why are you so calm about all of this?" Bunny asked, confused. "I mean, we're literally _watching your life_ , and the first thing you do is go to the fridge?"

"I think what he _means_ to say, is… are you okay, Sweet Tooth?"

Jack looked up at Bunny and Tooth. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be? I mean it's not like we've gotten to any of the bad stuff yet, and I've gotta say; it's nice being able to see my family again." He shrugged as he pulled out some ham, salami, sriracha-mayo, and Swiss from the fridge, and bread from the pantry. He then went about making himself three sandwiches.

"Oh! Do we have cookies?" North asked, checking the fridge for cookie dough. He cheered when he found it, much to Tooth's disappointment.

The next hour blurred by with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, fresh milk, and a nice vegetable stew that Bunny cooked up for everyone.

 ** _A/N: I decided that even I wouldn't click on a story with only 2,000 words, so I'm posting more to try to get that count up over 5,000._**

 ** _Words: 2,174_**

 ** _Pages: 5_**

 ** _Posted 12/25/2018_**


	4. Chapter 4: Sleepy Christmas

_**Chapter 4: Sleepy Christmas**_

"I suppose… We should probably get back to the memories." Jack sighed, not exactly looking forward to what was coming up. He didn't know when it'd be shown, but he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to see how they'd react to his death.

They walked through the front door, re-entering the memories. They came into Jackson's living room, which was decorated warmly for Christmas. "Ha! It is Christmas!" North shouted in glee. Bunny rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, mate. Easter's still better."

Jackson and Pippa bounced in their seats as their mother placed some freshly baked cookies and a glass of milk on the table for Santa. Jackson's eyes lit up for a moment before he dashed off to the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" North asked, curious.

"You'll see." Jack rolled his eyes.

Jackson came back with a handful of carrots. "Jack? What're those for?" Pippa asked.

"For the reindeer, Pippa!" Jackson said, the guardians could hear the unsaid 'duh' at the end of his sentence.

"How thoughtful! They always did like coming to this house." North smiled, remembering how they'd pull harder to get to the houses they knew held carrots or other treats for them. Some kids still do similar things.

"Ma? Can we _please_ stay up to see him?" Jackson asked, giving his mother the most powerful puppy-dog eyed stare the Guardians had ever seen. Pippa joined him.

"Oh, Jack! You and your sister were _so cute~!_ " Tooth spazzed, and even Baby Tooth swooned a bit, making Jack flush.

"I'm not a little kid anymore, you know!" He pouted, which only made Tooth smile more.

"Jackson! You're too young!" Jackson's mother reprimanded.

"Pleeeease! I turned ten like three days ago! I'm old enough!" Jackson begged.

"Wait, when _is_ your birthday?" Bunny asked, looking at their Jack. Sandy formed a question mark above his head, too.

"Well, I was born on December 21… Winter Solstice. If you mean when my birthday as Jack Frost is, well… that'd be December 26." He smiled at the others, who grinned back.

"Looks like we celebrate twice!" North proclaimed. Jack was quick to shake his head.

"No need to make a big deal out of it! Really! Even just once is plenty!" Jack didn't quite know what to think. He'd stopped celebrating his birthday not too long after he died. Aside from not remembering his human birthday, he never really found a reason to celebrate being alive. Especially considering the times when he'd really wished he wasn't. Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately—he'd found that he was much more durable as an immortal. Nothing he'd tried or found could kill him permanently. Maybe that's why he wasn't afraid when facing Pitch? He knew he couldn't die. But even if he could, he wouldn't have changed a thing. _Not like anyone would've cared if I'd died anyways. The Guardians would get over me._

In the memory—which the guardians had missed due to the conversation—it appeared that Jackson's mother had agreed to let the two of them try to stay up to see North. Pippa tried, she really did, but she was asleep within two hours. After a while, they could see Jackson's eyes starting to droop, and a golden glow emanate from outside.

Most kids didn't stay awake long enough to see Sandy's work, so they were impressed when they realized that Jackson was still awake. In fact, he got up and carefully walked over to the window just in time to see a golden strand phase through the glass and form a scene of Christmas morning over his sister's head.

"What the…?" Jackson startled when a golden man appeared at the window.

"Oh! You met Sandy! That is very rare!" North grinned as he watched the two interact.

Sanderson—memory Sandy—waved in greeting before also entering the household.

"Woah! You're the Sandman!" Jackson whispered in awe. Sanderson tipped his hat in a friendly hello. "Can't you talk?" He tilted his head.

The Sandman shook his head, and made a shushing motion. "Wait, so you _can_ speak, but you don't because if you do, you'll wake up all the kids _everywhere_?" He guessed, and both memory and present-day Sandy blinked in surprise. Nobody's guessed that right before! Everyone just assumed he _couldn't_ speak, not _wouldn't_.

Sanderson nodded in excitement. He'd never met a kid who could read him so well.

"Wait, you can talk?!" Bunny turned to their Sandy in shock.

"Yeah, you didn't know that?" Jack blinked. "I mean, you guys have known him longer than I have, and I've heard him speak once before."

"YOU HAVE?!" The three shouted in unison. Sandy couldn't help but silently laugh at the scene before him. It was like a comedy skit!

"Oh, you mean you haven't?" Jack tilted his head innocently. Sandy shook his head, indicating that he has never spoken around them.

"So lemme get this straight. Sandy, you actually _can_ speak, but you don't because if you do, all the kids all over the world will wake up?" Bunny waited for the affirming nod before he continued. "And Jack has actually _heard_ you speak before?" He nodded again. "And do ya think we'll see that memory here?"

"Probably." Jack answered the last one. "It _was_ a fairly fond memory of mine. I'm sure it'll come up during my immortal memories."

"That's so cool!" Jackson whisper-yelled, so as not to wake his sister and parents. Sanderson made a motion to the couch. "Aww, do I have to? I wanna see Santa! Please? There's something important I have to give to him!" Sanderson blinked in surprise before looking at the sky. He sighed and nodded, making himself comfortable on his little sand-cloud. "All right!" Jackson quietly cheered. He knew his sister would be so mad at him for not waking her up, but he couldn't interrupt such a nice dream. Besides! He was pushing his luck as it was! He didn't want Sandman to make him go to bed.

"I wanted to tell you, too, Sandman… Thank you." Jackson smiled at the golden man sitting in his living room. He formed a question mark above his head. "Thank you for giving me such good dreams! You're one of my heroes, you know that? I get my best pranking ideas from your dreams." He grinned, and Sanderson's glow became more pronounced around his cheeks.

"Aww, Sandy! You're blushing!" North grinned, looking between the flattered memory-Sandy and the equally flattered modern-day Sandy, who looked away in denial.

At that moment, memory-North made his way down the chimney, leaving a small cloud of soot from his landing. Jackson watched in awe and wonder. "Wow…"

"Sandy? What are you doing here? Oh! A child! You must be Jackson! I thought you'd be asleep!" North looked between the two in confusion.

"I asked him if I could stay awake so I could meet you!" Jackson grinned, and North—both past and present—could feel the wonder welling up inside the child. His wonder was one of the strongest he'd ever felt. And modern-North was very happy to feel that that wonder stayed mostly intact.

"Oh? Well you've met me. Ah! Cookies! And carrots, how thoughtful! No wonder the reindeer pulled me to this house first!" North dusted himself off and bit into a cookie with a smile.

"Hey, why don't kids ever leave anything out for me?" Bunny suddenly asked, pouting.

"Because Easter is not Christmas!" North replied. Before either could get into it, the memory caught their attention again. Memory-North and Jackson were sharing cookies with Sanderson.

"I wanted to give you something, Santa." Jackson said, reaching into his pocket to pull out a small box.

"Please, call me North!" Then he looked at the box. "What is this?"

"Well… I thought… you give out all these presents to kids all over the world, and I… well… who gives you presents? So I… um…" Jackson fidgeted in his seat, making for a very cute picture. "Merry Christmas!" He held out the box with a grin. North was touched. Very few children ever thought to give _him_ a present. (Though he always made sure they were on the Nice List thereafter).

"Sorry, Sandman. I don't have yours ready quite yet. But I'll have it ready by next year, okay?" Jack grinned as North took his gift and opened it.

"Thank you, Jackson." He smiled, pulling out a hand carved wooden tree with gifts delicately carved into the bottom, and four figures holding hands around the tree. Upon closer inspection, it showed North, Bunnymund, Sanderson, and Toothiana—though Jackson had yet to meet her.

North made a noise of recognition as he pulled the same small wooden oval out of his pocket, though it was quite worn, now.

"You kept it?" Jack asked in surprise. He was touched.

"I always keep gifts. Especially ones that are handmade! But this one always felt special to me." He smiled, winking at Jack, who did his best to hide his embarrassment.

Memory-North grinned and placed it carefully in his pocket. "Thank you. It is beautiful! I can tell you worked hard on it, no?" Jackson flushed.

"I did. Pa had to show me how to carve the wood, but this branch fell outside and I just _had_ to thank you somehow. Last year, you brought my sister that doll she wanted! And after that, her nightmares stopped! So… I really wanted to thank you for making her nightmares go away."

"Nightmares? You mean Pitch?" Bunny asked sharply.

"I think… maybe? But as far as I remember, Pitch hadn't figured out his little nightmare sand trick, right?" Jack pointed out. Sandy nodded in agreement. If Pitch had figured out that sand trick this early, he'd have known centuries ago!

Sanderson made a clock above his head, and memory-North nodded. "You are right, Sandy. It is late. And time for _you_ " he looked at Jackson, "to get some sleep."

"I suppose you're right. Thank you. Both of you." Jackson smiled, climbing onto the couch and curling up with his sister protectively. Sanderson smiled back and waved goodnight as he sent a stream of sand to the boy, causing the memory to go dark.

"So you've met three of us. Wonder if you'll meet Tooth, too?" Bunny wondered aloud.

"I think… I think I _do_ remember hearing something about one of my fairies meeting a couple of kids around this time, but I'm pretty sure I never met you." Tooth said after a moment of thought.

"Nah, you didn't meet me, Tooth. But Baby Tooth, here, did!" Jack smiled.

"You can recognize her?" Tooth asked in surprise. Most people couldn't tell her fairies apart.

"Of course! She's got this one blue strip down her back, and a little brown feather under her right eye." Jack said, as if this were obvious. Even Baby Tooth was surprised that Jack noticed these things about her. Sometimes even her siblings had to resort to scent to tell each other apart, and even _then_ someone would get it wrong!

They found themselves on Christmas Morning to Pippa rudely shaking awake a rather tired looking Jackson. "Pippa, what is it?" He muttered, rubbing his eyes. He noted with dismay that it was still dark outside, and the sun was only barely peeking over the horizon. "It's way too early to be awake."

"But Jack! It's Christmas! And Santa came! Look, look! He left boot-prints again!" She pointed eagerly to the shoeprints that North had left on their rug the night before.

"I know he came, Pip. I saw him." Jackson answered. Pippa froze and turned slowly to look at her brother.

"Y-you did?! And you didn't wake me up?!" She asked, hurt.

"N-no, Pip, listen! The Sandman was here, too! And I asked him if he'd let me stay awake so I could meet Santa. I didn't think he'd let either of us stay up if I asked. Besides, I was sorta star struck."

North chuckled. "And you weren't for me?!" Bunny asked, annoyed. What made North so much better anyways?!

"So… he was _really_ here, then?" Pippa asked tentatively.

"She's already doubting? So young!" North looked sadly at the child.

"What's that supposed to mean, Pip? Of _course_ Santa's real! And the Easter Bunny, as you saw! And the Sandman! And the Tooth Fairy! Even the Boogieman's real!" Jackson proclaimed. "Now, who told you otherwise?"

"W-well, I overheard some of the grown-ups talking about how they were going to do the 'Santa gift' this year, and that they thought it was adorable how we still believed." Pippa started to tear up.

"No, no, Pippa, look at me!" Jackson kneeled down to her level. "Listen, okay? They're all real. But you can only see them, if you _believe_ in them. They're meant to protect the _children_ , so of course the adults can't see them. Because they don't believe. And just because you can't see something, doesn't mean it isn't there. Like the moon!" Jackson took his sister over to the window and pointed out the moon, which was still in the sky. "Look, just because the sun comes out doesn't mean the moon is gone, right?"

"I… yeah." Pippa answered, feeling somewhat ashamed.

"Do you see those dark spots on the moon? There and there? What does that look like to you?" Jackson changed the subject suddenly.

"Uh… I don't know? A face?"

"Yes! It's a face! There's this guy that lives on the moon, and that's his face! He's called the Man in the Moon, and he watches over every child in the world from up there! But only at night, because the sun comes out during the day. So he asked the Easter Bunny, Sandman, Santa, and the Tooth Fairy to help him watch over the kids of the world while he was asleep. So if you ever need proof, just look at the moon." He finished, crossing his arms with a proud smile as his sister looked up at the moon in awe, her belief restored.

"That's pretty scary, there, mate. How'd you know all that?" Bunny asked.

"Well, I didn't." Jack scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I sorta… made it up?"

"You… what?" Tooth asked in disbelief.

"I couldn't let my sister stop believing! So I glanced out the window in hopes of an idea, and the story just sorta… came to me. I had no idea that MiM existed at the time. Not like you guys, who had well-known stories and holidays." Jack explained.

"That's pretty incredible, mate." Bunny whistled. "Maybe we should start trustin' _your_ gut instead of North's. You seem to have some pretty sharp instincts."

"Bunny! Was that a compliment?" Jack asked playfully, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't go gettin' used to it or nothin'!" He crossed his furry arms. "You're still annoying, Frostbite!"

"You know, the Japanese have a word for people with your personality." Jack smirked. "Tsundere~"

"Ts-ts- what the bloody hell are you sayin?" Bunny raised his fists, as if to fight. "All right, me an you! Let's go!"

Jack just laughed as the memory sped up again, showing tired groggy parents coming downstairs, making breakfast, forcing everyone to eat _before_ presents, and finally Pippa opening her gift to find several new dresses made of beautiful fabrics and fine materials. She was so happy that she nearly knocked Jack over with a hug. She was even more surprised to find matching dresses for the doll she'd gotten the previous year, as well as accessories for her.

Jack opened his gift carefully finding a pair of ice-skates. "YES!" He cheered, carefully pulling them out of the box. At the bottom, he found another, shallower box with his name written on it. He pulled it out carefully, reading the letter on top to himself and Pippa. "Jackson. I really enjoyed talking to you last night. The gift you made for me means a lot. I know it isn't much, but take this as an extra Christmas gift for you and your sister. May it bring you and your family luck in the coming year. From, North." Jackson pulled out the box and opened it to find several mouthwatering cookies and a small bundle of cash.

"I didn't realize you gave out money like that?" Bunny raised an eyebrow.

"Only for special children. I normally do not, because I have none myself, but there were a few very naughty people who had plenty of money to spare. They will not miss it." North shrugged.

"You mean you _stole_ that?!" Tooth cried out.

"Mate. You realize he used to be a _bandit_ , right? Stealin's sorta his thing." Bunny interjected.

" _Was_ my thing, Bunny. I am different now." North corrected.

"But you still stole the money." Bunny pointed out.

"Hey, lay off him, okay? It helped my family more than you know. Thank you North. We may not have made it the next winter without it." Jack grimaced, realizing what was coming up. He slowly brought up his hood as he dreaded the next memory. The scene around them swirled, and Jack prayed to whatever god pitied him enough to listen that he was wrong.

 _ **A/N: Hello everybody~! I've noticed some attention being given to this story, so I decided to update it again (thus bringing the word count up over 5,000. Hopefully it'll get a bit more attention, now.**_

 _ **Please let me know what you think by leaving a comment down below. The more comments, the faster the updates, because your reviews motivate me to write more! :D**_

 _ **Words: 2,867**_

 _ **Pages: 6**_

 _ **Posted: 12/26/2018**_


	5. Chapter 5: Death

_**Chapter 5: Death**_

The scene changed again, showing the seasons cycling through another Easter, Pippa's fifth birthday in the early spring, Jackson holding up antlers to his head on summer nights, making the children of the village laugh, and back to autumn.

"Whoo! That's a doozie!" Bunny shook his head, feeling a migraine starting up.

"Ma? Why isn't Pa home yet?" Jackson asked, a worried tone to his voice. He kept an eye on Pippa, who was busy playing with her doll in the living room.

The question brought the attention of the guardians to the memory, and North hoped the bad feeling in his belly was wrong.

Jackson's mother shifted nervously. "I'm not sure, Jackson, but I'm sure he's fine. You know how rowdy the sheep get this time of year. He likely just had to go chase down another runaway." She busied herself with dinner again, but Jackson didn't seem convinced.

A howling wind blew against the windows, and the boy looked up sharply, alarm on his features. "Relax, Jackson. It's just the wind." His mother told him. But he wasn't listening to her. He was listening to whatever the Wind had to say.

Without a second thought, he grabbed his cloak and ran for the door, not even bothering to put on shoes. "Pip! Stay with Ma! I'll be back!" He grabbed a bow and a quiver of arrows from beside the door—presumably his own—and ran out.

"Jackson!" His mother called after him, but he didn't stop. Something was wrong, and the Wind had told him so.

"Where is he, Wind?" He asked as he ran. The Wind howled again, gently pushing him in the right direction. The boy obeyed instantly, changing course accordingly.

The Guardians, on the other hand, were pulled along with memory-Jack, gliding along the ground without the need to move. Several guardians nearly lost their balance when they looked down, and Sandy and Tooth decided that hovering was their best option. "Mate, this is almost worse than the sleigh." Bunny muttered under his breath.

Before they knew it, they were in a dark clearing with Jackson's father. "Pa!" Jackson cried out in relief, seeing his dad alive and well. "Pa, we need to go! Now! Something's here, and we need to get home before—!"

"Hey, hey! Calm down, Jackson! What're you doing here? I thought you were at home with your mother and sister?" His father seemed very calm, and was holding a small sheep in his arms.

"Well you were taking so long, and I was worried, and…"

"I'm fine. This little one wondered off, so I had to go and find him." His father smiled fondly at the little sheep. "Late birth." He said when he saw Jackson's questioning gaze.

"W-we don't have time to talk! Something's _out here!_ We _need_ to get back home, _now!_ " Jackson tried pulling his father's arm in the direction of the house, where the wind was urging them to go, but his father shook his head.

"Jack, we need to get this little guy back to the flock. Come on, you can join me. Then we'll walk home together." He smiled, picking up his shepherd's staff—which the Guardians noted looked identical to Jack's own—and guided them back to the herd. Jackson was eyeing their surroundings suspiciously, watching for anything that may be lurking in the shadows.

They'd just returned the sheep to the flock and started to make their way back through the forest to the house when Jackson heard an eerie laugh echo throughout the trees. His father didn't seem to hear anything, though. But the Guardians stiffened.

"Smart boy. Too bad he won't listen to you." Pitch materialized out of the shadows in front of the two, but only Jackson reacted.

"Pitch!" North drew his swords in anger, before Bunny's paw on his shoulder reminded him that they could do nothing. This had already happened. Jack, who still had his hood pulled up, turned away. He didn't want to see this again. Twice was enough.

As if hearing his mental distress, a flash of light appeared above the Winter Spirit's head, letting a somewhat heavy object fall into his outstretched hand. He looked to find an iPod with earbuds. _Thank you MiM._ He smiled as he put the earbuds in and hit shuffle.

He had a soft spot for music, and loved crashing concerts. Rock was always a good one for him when he wanted to dwell on his down moods or anger, and so he was able to recognize _Breaking Benjamin_ when they came on. He smirked, turned up the music, and proceeded to completely ignore the memory unfolding behind him. He knew he couldn't do this every time, but if he could save himself some extra grief and heartache even just this once, then he was grateful. (And he did _not_ grin like a loon when he saw _Panic! At the Disco_ on there, either.)

"W-who are you?" Jackson asked, scared. His father looked at him oddly.

"Jack? Who're you talking to?"

"That man! In the shadows! You… can't see him? He's right there!" Jackson pointed towards Pitch, and the Guardians' hearts clenched.

"Jackson, there's nobody there." He tried, but Pitch laughed, pulling out a wicked looking dagger. It seemed warped, and covered in shadows.

"Oh, but _you_ can see me, young Jackson. I wonder… Is it possible to _make_ an adult believe? What can I do to force him to believe? I think I'll try… _this._ " With a swift movement, Pitch struck out at Jackson, a cut forming on his left cheek. He winced as it stung, and the Guardians all took an involuntary step forward at the action.

"How _dare_ he!?" Bunny was furious! How could _anyone_ , even Pitch attack a human child like that?! His mind flashed to the genocide of his own people, giving him the answer. _He just can._

"Jackson?!" His father flinched back in alarm, looking around for the cause of the cut.

"Tell him, Jackson." Pitch purred, making another slice on the fearful child's face. "Tell him that the Boogeyman is standing right in front of him." He paused for a moment, holding the knife to Jackson's neck, enraging the Guardians further. "Go on, before I lose my patience."

"T-the b-boogeyman is here, Pa. He says you've gotta believe in him to see him. Please believe me!" Jackson had tears running down his face. He was terrified! Sure, he'd believed in Pitch, but… he'd never expected to _meet_ him!

Jackson's father stood there for a moment, before he blinked and gasped in surprise, his gaze fixated on the Nightmare King.

"Oh, wonderful! My theory _is_ correct. You _can_ see me, can't you?" Pitch grinned gleefully. Jackson's father only nodded in shock, before his features became very hard.

"Let my son go." He stated firmly.

The Guardians, on the other hand were shocked. They'd believed it impossible for an adult to believe enough to see them! Yet Pitch had forced an adult to believe in him enough to clearly see him! It was both incredible and terrifying. Tooth wasn't the only one to notice Jack's adamant ignorance of the entire memory. She wasn't about to drag him into it, especially when his past self was likely very traumatized by the entire endeavor.

"Very well. My little experiment was a success, after all. Oh, but I can't just let you run around and do as you wish. While I wanted to see if an adult _could_ believe, I certainly don't want to draw any unwanted attention. Especially from those _blasted_ Guardians. So I'm afraid, you'll have to go." Pitch smiled darkly as he vanished for a moment, only to reappear behind Jackson's father. "Watch closely, dear Jackson. _This_ is _fear_." Pitch slit the man's throat with practiced precision.

"NO! PA!" Jackson cried out, running to his fallen father as Pitch vanished off into the night, laughter echoing throughout the trees. The Guardians stood stock still, trying to process what had happened as the memory faded out into the Break Room from before.

Jack, noticing the change in scenery, removed his earbuds and lowered his hood, putting the iPod in his pocket for later use. He turned to look at the tear-stained guardians, only to get an armful of sobbing Tooth.

"Oh, Jack! I didn't know Pitch could be so, so, so _awful!_ " She sobbed. "I should've punched him harder!"

"Whoa, whoa, Tooth! Calm down, would'ya? I'm okay. It's in the past." Jack tried to console her.

"Naw, mate. That's _not_ okay. What Pitch did ta ya was _wrong_ on so many levels." Bunny gently placed a paw on Jack's shoulder, trying to comfort him. After all, they did have something in common, now. Pitch stole part of Jack's family away, just like he took all of the Pooka's family.

"I mean I've come to terms with it. Yeah, I was traumatized for a while, but I've been through a lot of stuff since then. It really doesn't bother me anymore. It was just the first time I'd seen someone die." Jack tried again, but realized belatedly that that may not have been the best thing to say.

"You mean you've seen other people die?" Tooth asked in despair.

Jack didn't quite know how to answer that. "Tooth… Of course I have. I _am_ Winter, after all. You know my season kills, right?" He spoke slowly, gauging the reactions of those in the room.

"You mean you're a winter spirit, right?" Tooth blinked, not understanding what Jack was getting at.

Jack gave a long-suffering sigh. "No, Tooth. I'm not just a winter spirit. I'm _The_ Spirit _of_ Winter. You may recognize one of my other titles… King of Winter?"

"Wait, you're one of the Four Seasons?!" Bunny choked in surprise. The four seasons were the strongest of the seasonal spirits, and acted as kings or queens of the other spirits of their seasons. They were rumored to be very powerful and extremely hard to kill. They say the last one who died was winter, and _that_ caused an ice age. Since then, everyone had just assumed that there was no need for another Winter King or Queen. He never realized that Jack _was_ the King of Winter! No wonder the bloke could speak to the wind!

"Yeah. I mean, there really aren't any winter spirits or anything around, so I'm the only one who spreads winter, and—"

"Jack?" North interrupted. "What do you mean there are no more winter spirits?"

"There aren't any. Or if there are, I've never met one in all my three hundred years. As far as I can tell, I'm the only winter spirit out there. So spreading snow and blizzards and everything falls to me." Jack shrugged. Was there supposed to be someone to help him? It _would_ be nice, but he could handle it just fine on his own. He'd managed quite nicely for 300 years.

They were about to say something when the next memory began. "Hey! I thought we weren't supposed to get dragged into another memory until we open the door!" Bunny protested. _Sorry Bunny. Thanks Wind._ Jack smiled secretly to himself, mentally applauding himself and the Wind for opening the door without anyone noticing.

The memory showed a montage of Jackson working over several months on something. "What are you working on, Jack?" Pippa asked, bouncing up behind him one night. They both seemed older.

" _Jack is eleven in this memory."_ MiM supplied.

"I'm working on a present for someone." He smiled, looking down at his sister.

"But you're not supposed to work on gifts on your own birthday, silly!" Pippa laughed, and the Guardians saw a thick layer of snow outside.

"Yeah, but this is for someone very special. It's for one of the Guardians!" Jackson chuckled. "I promised him I'd finish it by Christmas. It's a bit early, but I've finally done it!" He held up a breathtaking wooden snowflake. It was carved so finely in some areas that it was partially see-through, and it looked like if it was handled too roughly, it'd break.

"You're very good with carving!" North admired. "Maybe you can help with toys?"

"Really?! Aw, yeah!" Jack pumped his fist in the air in excitement. His head was swarming with all sorts of fun ideas for Christmas toys.

In the memory, Pippa admired the snowflake with childlike wonder. "Wow! It looks like a real snowflake! Only bigger!"

"It's supposed to be a real snowflake, Pips." Jackson laughed, ruffling his sister's hair. She laughed as her brother gently set the snowflake down and tickle-attacked his sibling.

Sandy smiled, bringing to the surface the same snowflake that Jack had made for him. The only twin snowflakes in the world. He sent Jack a quick _thank you_ in ASL, which was returned with a _you're welcome_ from Jack.

Jackson fell asleep after putting the snowflake in a carefully wrapped box that he set down on the couch where North wouldn't miss it. He labeled it _'To: The Sandman. From: Jackson Overland (that kid from last year)_ ' The Guardians chuckled at his label.

When they woke the next morning, the box was gone, and in its place was a small pouch filled with Dreamsand and a small note that read _Thank you, Jack_ in very neat, flowy cursive.

The memory quickly faded. "That was it? I expected something… longer." Bunny sighed.

"Where is Tooth? Did Jack not meet her?" North wondered aloud.

"I didn't." Jack spoke up, amused. "Just because I met _some_ of you guys, doesn't mean I have to meet _all_ of you." He pointed out.

"Well, is true…" North relented.

"I feel kinda left out. Everyone else met Sweet Tooth as a mortal, but I never did." She sighed.

"Hey, it's all right, Tooth." Jack sent her a bright smile, knowing the sight of his teeth would cheer her up. "I know you now, and that's what matters, right?"

Tooth swooned a bit at the sight of his teeth. She gathered herself quickly, shaking her head and willing her blush down.

The memory changed again, this time showing Pippa, now older, opening her Christmas gifts. Jack stiffened when he saw her pull out a pair of ice skates.

"… _Jack is fourteen in this memory."_ MiM sounded almost apologetic, which confused the other guardians. They looked to their youngest to see his hood lifted up. A sure sign Jack was upset. He never thought to grab the iPod from his pocket.

"Jack? What is matter?" North asked, concerned.

"This is… It's an emotional memory for me. Not like my Pa, but… Still not a favorite memory." Jack answered, clenching his staff harder, causing more frost to spread.

"Yay! I got the ice skates I wanted! Can we go skating today?! Pleeeeeease?!" Pippa begged, looking at Jackson with the most irresistible puppy-dog eyes.

"Pips… We probably shouldn't go skating just yet. Winter came a bit late this year, and the sun's been beating down on that lake all day…" Jackson trailed off.

"I'll be careful! Besides, you'll be there with me!" She grinned, showing a missing tooth. The eight-year-old looked into her older brother's eyes with so much adoration.

"Tomorrow, okay?" Jackson finally relented, causing modern-day Jack to wince. _Maybe if I hadn't…_ He shook his head, the other guardians oblivious to his inner struggle.

The memory sped up again, and North rubbed at his belly. "I have bad feeling." He muttered, wondering why he felt so guilty for giving the girl those skates.

The next day dawned cold and crisp, and though the Guardians couldn't feel it, they shivered. They watched as Pippa struggled to get Jackson out of bed. He looked off, like he was detached. Even as they sped through breakfast, Jackson never lost that odd air about him. Like he was living in a dream and not quite seeing everything as he should. Even the memory seemed a little hazy.

"What's wrong, Jack? You looked out of it." Tooth asked their Jack, worried.

"I guess… I guess that some part of me could sense what was coming." He sighed. "You're going to see how I became an immortal."

"Oh? So _this_ is when MiM chose you? He normally waits until adulthood…?" Tooth puzzled over this information.

"Wait! You mean ta tell me, that you were chosen at 14?! No wonder you're so immature!" Bunny felt like pulling on his ears in frustration. It was a well-known fact that whatever your base age was—meaning however old you were physically when you became an immortal—was your emotional age, too. Most people were adults when they became immortals, and simply chose to take a younger form. He'd assumed that Jack had done the same. _Apparently not._ He mentally smacked himself. That made a _lot_ more sense.

"You _are_ child… You are immortal child." North mused aloud. He'd figured that something like this had happened. After all, only children were on his Lists, and if Jack held the record on the Naughty List, then that meant he was still a child. He'd never given it much thought before, though. How could he have missed this? He ignored a _child_ … One he was sworn to protect.

"Why would Manny take you away from all this?" Tooth wondered, looking at the family of three.

"He didn't." Jack replied, pulling up his hood again. _Death did_.

Before they could press him for further answers, they heard Jackson's mother call out to her kids. "Be careful!"

"We will!" Jackson's smile was hesitant and unsure, even as Pippa dragged him away towards the lake.

Once they arrived, Pippa wasted no time in donning her new skates and slipping out onto the ice. "Pips, wait! I've gotta check to make sure the ice is safe!" Jackson quickly put on his own skates and gracefully, almost effortlessly, glided out after her, steering her away from what he perceived was the more dangerous ice.

They watched as Jackson showed her how to move and stop safely. Pippa seemed to be getting the hang of it, when Jackson heard a branch snap on the edge of the lake. Cautious, he made his way over to check it out. Though Jackson missed it, the Guardians saw what looked like a shadowy figure flit through the trees.

"Pitch!?" North realized, his fists balling up in anger. If he hurt Jack's sister, he was going to track down the Nightmare King and show him just how powerful the Guardians were!

Jack, who noticed the figure this go around, smiled softly. "Not quite, North." He muttered under his breath as he caught a glimpse of unnaturally bright green eyes. No, this wasn't Pitch. This was a sort-of friend of his. _Death_.

Pippa, who'd heard none of this, continued to skate on her own. Jackson had been making his way back to her when he heard a loud and terrifying crack.

The memory abruptly came into very sharp focus. The silent forest around them suddenly seemed so loud as the wind moaned through the trees, like it was crying. The guardians feared the worst for poor Pippa.

"Oh, no…" Tooth looked at Jack with sorrow. "Jack, I'm so sorry…"

Pippa looked down at the fragile ice beneath her, terrified. Jackson was scared too, but he took a deep breath and carefully kneeled down. He slowly took off his skates as he crept as close to his sister as he dared, setting his footwear aside, leaving him barefoot on the ice.

"It's okay, it's okay!" He reached out a hand towards her in reassurance. "Don't look down, just… look at me." His tone was steady and comforting.

"Jack! I'm scared!" Pippa's voice shook, making the Guardians wince. The ice beneath her cracked a little more.

"I know, I know." Jackson tried to reassure her, taking a step closer, only for the ice under his foot to crack, too. He looked down, frightened, though he didn't show it. He smiled. "But, you're gonna be all right." He tried to think of something to reassure her with. "You're not gonna fall in." He looked around for an idea. "Uhh… we're gonna have a little fun, instead!" He grinned.

"Your center…" North realized.

"No, we're not!" Pippa cried, distressed.

"Would I trick you?" Jackson asked, making Bunny wince.

"Maybe not the best thing to say, mate."

"YES! You _always_ play tricks!" Pippa was close to tears, now. And the Guardians were hoping against hope that she'd make it out okay.

"Oh, well… well not-not-not this time." Jackson stuttered, trying to fix his slip up. "I promise, I _promise_ , you're gonna be— You're gonna be fine." Jack smiled as he watched his past self reassure his sister. He had no regrets, and he'd do it all over again if he was placed in the same situation. Pippa was worth it.

"You have to _believe_ in me." Jackson said, willing his sister to trust him. The words made the Guardians wince. "You wanna play a game?" He suddenly asked, confusing the Guardians. "We're gonna play hopscotch! Like we play every day." Jackson suddenly seemed to gain his composure. "I-it's as easy as one…" He took a step towards a fallen branch, but the ice cracked and groaned under his foot. He winced, but quickly faked losing his balance in an overly dramatic manner, making his sister laugh.

Her laughter fueled him as he took the next step, this time onto thicker ice. "Two… _three!_ " He jumped onto the safe ice next to the branch, which they now recognized as his staff.

Jackson bent down, grasping the staff without taking his eyes off his sister. "All right." He breathed, hardly daring to blink. "Now it's your turn." Pippa looked down at her feet, her earlier fear returning even as Jackson counted. "One, that's it, that's it." The ice cracked badly under her skates as she shifted her weight forward.

The Guardians were amazed at how calm Jackson was, and how hard he was trying to save his sister.

"Two…" The ice cracked even more, and Jackson realized he didn't have any more time. "Three!" He hooked her with the staff and threw her across the ice into the safe territory. He regained his footing, looking at his sister in relief.

The Guardians all let out sighs of relief as they realized that Pippa was safe. "You did it, Jack!" North congratulated.

"Yeah. I did. I saved her." Jack smiled softly, leaning on his staff. He regretted nothing. Sandy formed a question mark over his head. "You'll see, Sandy. The memory isn't over yet." At that, the others turned back towards Jackson with a growing feeling of dread.

The brown-haired boy gave a small laugh of relief as he straightened up, only to hear a crackling sound a split moment before the ice beneath his feet—precisely where Pippa had been standing before—gave out. The Guardians were dragged under the surface alongside Jackson, making them all panic for a moment before realizing that they were neither wet, nor cold, nor unable to breathe.

They watched in horror as Jackson, disorientated from the fall and unable to move because of the cold, slowly drowned.

"You… died?" Bunny spoke first, unable to tear his eyes away from the floating child whose chest no longer moved. He'd just watched the spark of life fizzle out in the eyes of someone he thought of as a brother.

"Yeah. I died. It's why I'm scared of water." Jack shrugged nonchalantly.

"You… you realize that nobody's ever _died_ before becoming a guardian, right?" Tooth asked gently. "As far as I know, no immortal has died before…"

"I've heard of a few immortals _nearly_ dyin' before becoming what they are, but they were all chosen by Mother Nature. Manny doesn't usually interfere with things like death, not like that." Bunny interjected. "I suppose it'd be more accurate to say that they were saved a moment _before_ they would'a died. I don't think they actually… ya know…"

"So, none of you have died?" Jack asked, a little startled. Why was _he_ different?

"No," Tooth shook her head. "I got a choice. I could've said no and stayed mortal."

"Da. I was also given choice, as was Bunny." North chipped in. Sandy nodded, too, remembering when he was asked.

"So I'm the only one who didn't get a choice?" Jack huffed, mildly offended. He would've chosen this option, regardless, mind you. He loved the children of the world, and he would protect them even if they didn't know he was there. But he was still miffed that MiM had given _everyone_ a choice but him.

They didn't know how to respond to that. As it turned out, they didn't have to.

"Look." Bunny pointed in awe to the shafts of moonlight that fell upon the brown locks of Jackson Overland, bleaching them a familiar silvery-white. His dead eyes regained a fierce spark as they turned an icy-blue color.

"This," Jack spoke. "Is my immortal birth day. December 26th."

"Jack… I am sorry. If I'd known that those skates—"

"Don't." Jack cut off North as they watched Jackson's body rise up above the surface of the lake. "There was no way you could've known." The ice re-froze beneath his bare feet as he looked at the world around him in awe and wonder. "I don't blame you, North. All you did was give her what she'd wanted for Christmas." Jack smiled softly as he gazed at his past self discovering his staff. "And I'd die all over again to save her. I don't regret it. I was just scared that you guys would overreact."

"Over- overreact?! Frostbite, mate, death is _serious_! _Traumatic_!" Bunny was horrified at how easily Jack could disregard his own death.

"Well, I didn't _know_ that I'd died until I got my memories back." He shrugged, thinking of the close calls he'd had as an immortal. He paled a little. "Er… maybe you should save the worrying for some of the other memories."

"Wait, it gets _worse_ than watching you _die_?!" Tooth choked out.

"Well…" _Best to be blunt._ "Yeah…?" They flinched. "A lot of stuff happened to me during my 300 years, okay? I'm not exactly the 'crowd favorite' among the spirits, you know. Nobody likes winter." Bunny flinched a little at that. He was sure he hadn't helped any.

A laugh drew their attention back to memory Jack, who was creating designs on the lake with his newfound powers. He laughed as he skated around without a care in the world. Even the Wind joined in by picking him up to show off his artwork from the sky. The Guardians were lifted up alongside the memory version of their friend, startling Bunny and North.

"Wow…" Bunny breathed out as he saw the beauty in the frost for the first time. "It's incredible." How could Jack create such beauty using only white? For a moment, he became slightly jealous—he needed colors to make white beautiful, while Jack only needed frost.

Suddenly, the Wind dropped Memory Jack, who hit a tree branch rather hard, causing the group to wince. "Were you okay?" North asked, only to hear Memory Jack laugh.

"You… had no memories at all?" It really started to click for Tooth. Jack was an amnesiac for three centuries!

"None. I knew what things were called and what they did, for the most part. And I remembered how to speak. But beyond that… Even the Moon had to tell me my name. Jack Frost. And that was all he _ever_ told me." Jack said bitterly. He still hadn't fully forgiven MiM.

They watched as he flew into town, and tried to greet people, only for a child to run straight through him. The new immortal gasped in shock as the shockwave of _cold_ and _pain_ rippled through his being, terrifying him. But before he could move, two more people walked through him as well, and no matter how loudly or desperately he called out, nobody heard him. He staggered off into the forest, alone and scared, as the memory faded again.

 _ **A/N: Happy New Year~! I wanted to commemorate this new year (hopefully of productivity) by updating at least two stories. ^^ So here we are! This chapter got rather dark. I always thought to myself, what was Pitch up to back then? I also always wondered if an adult could be**_ **made** _ **to believe under extreme circumstances. I suppose we now have our answer. Like it? Love it? Hate it? Let me know, please!**_

 _ **We also finally get to Jack's Death! I'm sorry if you wanted a bit more of a reaction from the Guardians, but rest assured, there will be plenty more opportunities for them to fawn over their 'baby' later on in his immortal memories.**_

 _ **Also~! I had someone comment on the name I used on some random kid in a previous chapter. I know it's not time-period researched, that's why I'm mostly trying to avoid talking about specifics. I usually do my research, but this story is more written for fun. I've posted it to share said fun with anyone who wants to read it. So happy 2019, everybody~! (God, I feel old!)**_

 _ **Words: 4,702**_

 _ **Pages: 9**_

 _ **Posted: 01/01/2019**_


	6. Chapter 6: Death's Angel

_**Chapter 6: Death's Angel**_

"Does it really hurt?" Tooth asked, unsure. It'd been so long since she'd been walked through. Surprisingly, Bunny was the one to answer.

"It hurts, all right. Physically and emotionally. Like an electric shock straight ta yer core. An' it's cold, worse than the Pole." He shivered as he recalled that Easter that almost cost them everything.

"Same here." Jack nodded. Tooth, North, and Sandy winced. Sandy, however, raised a question mark above his head.

"Wait, they never told you what happened while you were gone?" Jack asked, perplexed. He hadn't expected them to not tell Sandy. The golden man shook his head, indicating that _no_ , nobody would tell him _anything_. Jack sighed.

"Well, it's complicated. We might even see it in here, now that I think about it." Jack mused, missing the wave of unease that swept through the three Guardians at the thought. "I'll give you a quick summary, though. We had a big fight, which I'm _sure_ you'll see much later in the memories, and I flew off for a while to cool off. I ran into Pitch, got my ass handed to me, and came back just in time to save Jamie's belief, kick Nightmare King butt, welcome you home, and return in time for dinner." Jack smirked.

"Language, Jack!" North admonished, before Jack's words truly registered.

"Wait, you ran into _Pitch_?! _ALONE?!_ " Tooth screeched.

"Oh, di-did I forget to mention that?" Jack smiled sheepishly, inching away from the somewhat intimidating fairy.

"Yes, you did. But no matter! Everything is fine, now, and we will discuss when memory is shown!" North interjected, stopping Tooth before she could go on a tirade. Jack let out a sigh of relief. _Thank you, North._ It'd be hard enough with everyone's worrying about him throughout these memories. He didn't want to add in any… unnecessary complications.

The scene around them shifted as the next memory blurred into view. Frost (Memory Jack) was wandering through a forest in the middle of a blizzard.

" _Guardians."_ MiM's ethereal voice made the group jump. _"Jack is eight in this memory."_

"Eight? He must mean immortal years…" Bunny crossed his arms, fighting the urge to shiver. He _hated_ blizzards. Even if he couldn't feel them.

"Please! Stop! There's people out here!" Frost cried out, tears frozen on his face. The Guardians were struck by just how _young_ he looked.

Jack flinched as he recognized the memory. They watched as he tried and failed to reign in the storm, gasping for breath at the effort.

" _Little One… you know I cannot."_ A whispery voice said. If one wasn't listening closely enough, they'd miss it.

"Who the hell was that?!" Bunny asked, whirling around to try to find the source of the voice.

"That's Wind." Jack said, smiling softly. Wind wasn't with them, here, so he'd gotten a little lonely. She _had_ been his first friend, after all.

"But! Surely, just enough to get them home! There's a kid missing!" Frost tried again.

" _I have explained the cycle of death and life to you. You already know, Young One. The Cycle must be kept."_ Wind said, a touch of sorrow in her voice.

"H-hello?" A small voice made Frost jump and spin around as he came face to face with a small child. She looked no older than ten.

"Oh my tooth…" Tooth's wings flittered gently as she landed on the ground. There was no way this child would survive the blizzard.

"Who are you?" The child asked, looking at Frost.

"She can see ya?" Bunny asked in surprise. Jack nodded, but said nothing.

"A-are you talking to me? You can _see_ me?!" Frost looked halfway between thrilled and terrified.

"Are you an angel?" She asked, looking up at him from where she sat at the roots of a large tree.

"I'm Jack Frost. B-but we have to get you back to the village! It's far too cold out here for you!" Frost went to pick her up, but stopped inches from her skin. His instincts told him that if he touched her, something would happen.

"Mr. Angel?" The girl looked at him with wide brown eyes. "Can I have a hug? I'm scared, and it's so cold out here…"

He stood there for a moment, before an odd understanding flashed in his eyes. Suddenly, this weight seemed to settle around his shoulders as he smiled softly and sat beside the child. "Of course." He wrapped her in an embrace. And for a moment, the snow behind him seemed to form a pair of wings. He looked like the angel the child had mistaken him for.

She smiled, her shivering coming to a stop. "You're so warm!" She breathed in relief. As Frost stood up, her spirit was still in his arms. Her body lay, still and quiet at the tree's roots.

The Guardians watched the scene in horror. The child was dead. Jack had taken her spirit from her body. He'd _reaped_ her.

"Amy, everything will be okay." Frost smiled, and the child-spirit in his arms looked up with a bright happy grin.

"I know!" She chirped, looking in awe at the storm around her. "I can't feel any cold when you're with me!" She grinned, though her attention seemed drawn towards something the guardians could not see. "What's that light?"

Frost looked up, and smiled softly. "Go on. Your papa's waiting." He set her down, and gave her a gentle push towards the light.

"Mate, is there really a light?" Bunny asked, though his ears were flat against his skull. This entire scene was so sad… Jack was only eight, and he'd already watched a child die?

"Yeah. I can see it. I suppose it's because I've already died. That's partially why I'm a Reaper. I work for MiM and Death." Jack explained, as the group watched the girl's spirit vanish.

Frost looked up to the sky, his snow wings fading away. "So is that my purpose? To comfort the dying? Can only the dying see me?" He looked up through the parting clouds to see the moon. "Because if that's why I'm here, then I'd have to say that's a pretty cruel existence."

None of the Guardians knew how to react to the scene as it blurred away into the now familiar break room.

"Jack?" Tooth ventured, but didn't know how to continue.

"It's part of my job as Winter, too. Those who die in my storms… particularly the children… I can give them comfort as they pass. Once they touch me, that's it. By the time they can see me, it's too late anyhow. My touch reaps them, which basically means that I remove their soul from their bodies, killing them. I feel warm and comforting to them, so they can pass on peacefully." Jack sighed. "I guard them, keeping their souls safe, until they pass on. Usually, this happens within an hour of death, but if they're stubborn, I'll have to find some way to convince them to pass on."

"You were only eight! You were just a child! You shouldn't have had to carry that kind of burden!" Tooth protested.

"Don't know if you missed the memo, Tooth, but in case you hadn't noticed, I still _am_ a child." Jack shot back. This tense atmosphere was getting to him.

He needed to find some way to lighten things up. He was the Guardian of _Fun_ , after all! He smirked, forming a snowball in his hand, before throwing it at Bunny, hitting him smack in the face. With a laugh, Jack sped off to the kitchen.

"Get back here!" Bunny gave chase, grinning as well.

North and Tooth simply shared a look before charging in and joining in the fight. Whatever would come, Jack was okay now, and that's what mattered.

 _ **A/N: Sorry it took so long for such a short chapter. I needed to add some more when (much to my horror) I found it was less than 1,000 words. For those of you who've read my Hetalia fanfictions (which is an anime, for those of you who don't know), you'll know that I typically make my chapters longer. My longest chapter to date is over 10,000 words (for one single chapter), so writing stories with these piddly short chapters is different for me, but allows me to update more often than three times a year. XD**_

 _ **I hope you've enjoyed this update. I've always liked the idea of Jack having some sort of special connection with Death, due to him having actually**_ **died** _ **. So here we are. I will go through all his immortal memories (Believe me, I'm doing a Hetalia fic of watching the memories/past of a character, and that starts at around 753 B.C. and goes to present-day. XD Yeah, that's gonna be a long one.)**_

 _ **I will also stick to this story till the end. I don't abandon my stories. (My first fic, HetaOni: Italy's Story, [anther Hetalia one] I've been working on for around 7 years, now. Still updating). So yeah, don't lose hope. Ever. ^^**_

 _ **I also don't write romance, for those of you hoping for it. If you squint, you may see some, but please don't PM me asking for Jackbunny or anything. You'll find that I don't write romance in any of my stories (except for a single pairing in Hetalia, but I ship that only because one character died as a child in war after confessing his love, so I love writing the one left behind. The angst and pain and suffering of losing someone he cared so deeply for is something I really love writing). So… yeah. If I ever**_ **do** _ **write a pairing, one of them is probably going to permanently die, so please don't bug me about it (Unless you**_ **really** _ **want me to kill off someone permanently, then I suppose I'll give it a shot, but… your funeral).**_

 _ **Having said that, I hope you really have enjoyed this chapter. I'm trying to keep the rating K (I normally write T for harsh language), so it's interesting.**_

 _ **Words: 1,303**_

 _ **Pages: 3**_

 _ **Posted: 01/04/2019**_


	7. Chapter 7: First Immortal

_**Chapter 7: First Immortal**_

"That's going to take some getting used to…" Bunny looked a little ill as he tried not to focus on the fact that they were rather high up off the ground.

"Look! What's that?" North pointed to an odd golden glow on the horizon.

Jack smiled as he recognized the memory. Sandy grinned, too.

"Hm? Wind, what'dya think that is?" Frost tilted his head as he listened to his friend. "You think we should go see? All right!" He laughed as the wind threw him around, towards the odd glow.

He saw a cloud of the golden sand, and atop it was a small golden man. "Woah! Who're you?!" He wondered aloud, not expecting any sort of answer. The Guardians could clearly see the shock written all over his face when the Sanderson's head turned in his direction and _looked at him_. Frost was so shocked that he lost his balance and crash landed into a snowdrift.

"Were you okay?!" Tooth fretted.

"Relax, Tooth. I was perfectly fine. It's not like that was my first crash-landing." Jack rolled his eyes.

Sanderson, however, was equally surprised by the winter spirit's call, and flew down to make sure he was okay.

"H-hello. Can… can you see me?" The Guardians winced at the question, the young girl from the previous memory echoed in their minds. Sanderson nodded.

"You can?! Really?!" Frost's smile was as bright as sunlight reflecting off the snow, and Tooth held up about as well as can be expected. "My name's Jack! Jack Frost! And I'm the Spirit of Winter! Who're you?"

Sanderson smiled as he spelled his name out in sand above his head. So _this_ was the new spirit everybody was talking about. He was so _young_. He looked just like a child.

"Sandy? The sandman? Oh! I've heard of you! The kids talk about you all the time! So you give people dreams? That's so cool! Hey! Umm… Can you…" Frost fidgeted, as his earlier enthusiasm faded, worrying the Guardians. "Can you tell me what I am? Why people can't see me?"

" _Guardians…"_ MiM's voice made them jump. _"Jack is 35 in this memory."_

"Wait, you were thirty-five, and you still didn't know what you were?" Bunny asked in disbelief.

"Well, it's not like there's a welcoming committee handing out brochures with an introduction to the Spirit World or anything." Jack crossed his arms.

Sanderson sighed and gestured for Frost to climb aboard his Dreamcloud.

He tilted his head, but did as told. "Can't you talk?" Sanderson shook his head, and held his finger up to his lips. "Oh, you're mute?" He nodded.

Sanderson spent the next hour explaining as best he could that they were immortal spirits and that they could only be seen by children who believed. He was pleasantly surprised that the winter spirit was adept at deciphering his symbols, and treated it like a game.

"So what do I have to do to be believed in?" Frost asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"You were so excited." North observed.

"Well, yeah. Aside from Wind, and a few dying people, this was my first conversation. Ever." Jack informed the horrified group. Sandy just smiled sadly. He'd expected as such.

Sanderson smiled sadly and shook his head. "You don't know?" He sighed, dejected. Sanderson frowned for a moment, before he waved to get Jack's attention. He then started explaining his idea to the boy. "Y-you'd really do that?! For _me_?" Frost grinned. "Do you think it'll work? Giving kids dreams about me? Do ya think that'll make them see me?!" He lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. It pained the Guardians, who knew it would be nearly three centuries before his wish would come true.

Sanderson nodded with a hopeful smile. It was the only thing he could think of, and he prayed that it would work. He couldn't bear to see that hope crushed.

Bunny could feel the hope rolling off the memory spirit in waves. It made him feel sick, because he knew it would be crushed brutally.

The memory shifted once more, showing Frost sitting dejectedly by his frozen lake. He heaved a heavy sigh, and while the snow was melting all around him, he seemed to neither notice nor care.

"Nobody sees me… I guess it didn't work, then." He sighed again, idly flicking a rock across the ice.

"Ugh. So _you're_ the new sprite." A girl said, stepping out from behind a tree. Her light blonde hair matched her bright blue eyes, and she wore a very pretty green dress.

"Y-you can see me, too?! Are you another spirit?" Frost asked, startled.

"Yeah. I'm a _spring_ spirit. And guess what? It's _Spring_. Which means _you_ should be leaving now. Buh bye." She made a shooing motion with her hands, and directed a few rays of sunlight towards the lake to start melting the ice.

"W-wait! That's _my_ lake, though." Frost protested looking confused. "This is where I live."

"Not my problem. Live somewhere else until winter comes back around." She proceeded to ignore him and melted a nearby snow bank.

"I'm sorry… I'm still new to everything."

"You're, what? Forty?"

"I'm thirty-five."

"Whatever. Look, Frosty," She stopped to glare at Frost. "Nobody likes you. You're _winter_. You bring death and destruction. Starvation and discomfort. There's nothing for anybody to _like_ about you. You're only here out of necessity. I'm a nice girl, so I'll give you a warning. Stay away from the other sprites. If you stay past your season, you'll be punished. And Mother have mercy on you if you ever stay late enough to come across a _summer_ sprite."

"What'dya mean?"

"You don't know? They'll kill you. If you're interfering with the seasons and throwing them outta whack, like your presence is doing right now, then you'll be in _big_ trouble. I know the last winter sprite got a little over his head, and some summer sprite burned him to death." She shrugged as if the information didn't bother her.

"Look, I'm just sayin." She continued. "If I was you, I'd run and hide and spread my season as quietly as I could, because nobody likes you. Your season is _hated_. People will try to kill you. You're young, yeah? I'm sure you didn't know what this job entailed when Mother first asked you, but—"

"When who asked me?" Frost cut in, looking lost.

"Mother? Mother Nature? The one who made you what you are?" She looked at the white-haired boy like he was nuts.

"But Mother Nature didn't make me, Man in Moon did. He created me and gave me my name." Frost explained.

"Look, that moon guy doesn't interfere with seasons. If what you're saying is true, then he must've struck some kind of deal with her. Either way, you're annoying me, and not my problem."

"Why I never!" Tooth growled.

"But I still have questions!" Frost protested, but she vanished in a swirl of flower petals.

Frost left his lake soon after, heading out to explore some different parts of the world that still needed snow.

"Wind, remind me to stay _away_ from Spring Spirits… They're very rude." Frost muttered as he flew off into the sky, allowing the memory to fade away.

 _ **A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry it's been so long (though I've had other stories wait longer). Quick little head's up. I've started my own novel, recently, so updates will not be frequent. Rest assured, I'm not going to abandon this story, nor am I going to go a year without updating (again… sorry!). I've also recently found a full-time job, so that'll cut into my time, too, when I start.**_

 _ **At any rate, this was a bit more of a light-hearted chapter as opposed to the sort of darker atmosphere of the previous one.**_

 _ **A little about me as an author, since I've seen a few of you who are scared I'll abandon this story. I don't write for reviews, though they are nice, and can sometimes give my motivation the kick in the butt it sometimes needs. I write for fun, and mostly for myself. But I POST my works because I want to share the way I view things with others.**_

 _ **Everybody sees the world with different eyes. I see a different world than anybody else, because I'm unique, just as you do. I want to share that world with the people around me, and others around the world! People like you. And not just how I see the world, but I want to share emotions with you. I want to share my happiness and joy, as well as my sorrow and pain. I write for fun, and I also write to vent.**_

 _ **The emotions portrayed in my stories are real. When my characters are going through hard times, it's because I've been there, too. I draw off of my personal experiences to make my writing authentic. I feel it gives my stories soul.**_

 _ **I know a lot of my readers are young. A lot of you are still in school (I'm 23, if you were wondering), and some of you are going through hard times. I want to take a moment and tell you that it's okay to hurt. It's okay to cry, or feel alone. And I know you've heard the 'you're not alone' spiel before. But let me say this. I may be a perfect stranger, but I care. And perhaps because I'm a perfect stranger, you may feel more comfortable reaching out to me than some stupid hotline or even family or a friend.**_

 _ **I've been there. I've been depressed; suicidal; self-harm. I may not understand**_ **your** _ **pain, but I understand pain. If you need an ear, I'm here for you.**_

 _ **You can reach out to me through PM, e-mail, or Telegram (Same username). If I don't reply immediately, I'm probably at work, but I'll reply as soon as I'm able. I'm not telling you to do or not to do anything. I'm just saying that I care. Because we're all in this life together, for whatever unknown reason, we're here. And that sort of makes us a team, right?**_

 _ **And since I know some people leave messages like this and people who need them see it years later… What I say now… still stands. No matter when you're reading this. 2019, or 2035. If you need someone, I'm here. Even if it's just to vent.**_

 _ **Words: 1,218**_

 _ **Pages: 3**_

 _ **Posted: 01/13/2019**_


	8. Chapter 8: North's Workshop

**_Chapter 8: North's Workshop_**

The scene opened up to show Frost flying over a desolate snowy region. "I heard it was somewhere up here…" Frost muttered to himself.

 _"Guardians… Jack is 50 here."_ MiM informed the Guardians.

"What are you looking for?" North tilted his head. The area around them seemed oddly familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

"Oh, you'll see." Jack smirked. This was a good memory. He liked this one.

A small pinprick of light shone out from the darkness around them, and Frost gave a whoop of excitement as he flew faster. It wasn't long before the Guardians could make out the familiar silhouette of North's Workshop.

Frost flew around for a bit, before landing on what he figured was he front steps. "I hear that Santa's a spirit, too! Like Sandman! So, maybe he'll see me?" The wind blew, as if saying something to Frost. "I know, but… I want to try. Maybe… I mean, he _is_ Santa… Perhaps he'll let me spend the night? And I'd _love_ to try some cookies~! I hear they're amazing!" He grinned as he knocked on the door and politely waited.

"You'd never had _cookies_?!" North's eyes widened.

"Nope. I didn't really _need_ to eat, you know, being a spirit and all. But I did still get hungry. Luckily, as the 21st century came around, people became more wasteful with their food, and I was able to just snatch what I wanted out of garbage cans." Jack explained nonchalantly, as if it was normal for spirits to rummage in rubbish bins for their meals.

"Jack! You may not be able to _die_ from starvation, but you need to eat!" Tooth admonished with no small amount of horror.

"Wha?!" Jack was taken aback, even as Frost knocked again, growing impatient.

"But Tooth, what was I supposed to do?! Not like I know how to cook or anything, and I couldn't just walk into a McDonald's and order a Big Mac." Jack crossed his arms, and Tooth looked down.

"He's right, Sheila." Bunny spoke up. "And we weren't there for 'im when he needed us."

"I mean… He's _Santa…_ he's supposed to be good to all nice kids, right?" Frost idly questioned to himself. A flash of a child dying in a blizzard was seen as Frost cried, devastated that he was unable to do anything but _kill_ this child who didn't look much older than four or five. "Then again…" The brief flashback faded to show Frost still standing before North's front door. "I'm not nice… am I?"

The wind blew again, and he smiled bitterly. "It _is_ my fault, Wind."

"It ain't your fault, kid." Bunny spoke up, cutting off Tooth before she had the chance to start.

"It _is_ my fault. But I know now that it's a necessary part of my job. Guardian or not, Winter Kills. It always has, and it always will. It's what I do. I kill so _you_ " Jack poked Bunny's chest, "can bring new life in the springtime. I kill crops so the ground can rest and restore lost nutrients. I kill animals as nature's way of controlling the population. I kill humans who are either too stupid to dress warmly, or too poor to survive. I kill children that they will not suffer in life. I make those deaths as quick as I can." Jack sighed. "And I remember… every single child… every adult…"

"Even adults?" Tooth spoke up. "They could see you, too?"

"Yeah. When dying, anyone can see a spirit, so long as they're connected to whatever's killing them. Just like my dad could see Pitch. But since I'm winter, they see me as they're fading. I help any adults I come across just like I do kids, ya know? I mean, they're all just humans." He smiled. "And even the adults are kids compared to us."

"I've never thought of it that way…" Tooth pondered Jack's words even as the front door to the Workshop finally opened. A very put out Yeti stared down at Frost in disbelief.

"Warblefreshar?" He gasped in shock.

"Uh… hi?"

"Warble! Imirgrashimar!" The Yeti put his fists on his hips and sent Frost a glare.

"Is… erm… Santa there? I'm Jack Frost, and I'd really like to meet 'im!" Frost grinned. And in that moment, he looked every bit the little kid he'd died as. The Yeti hesitated for a moment, before letting him inside. He made a 'stay here' motion as he went off to find Nick.

But Frost, being the curious child that he was, couldn't sit still for long. And really, who could expect any child to sit still in a boring entry room when they were in _Santa's Workshop_!? Such idiocy would later have that Yeti—who would later be dubbed Phil—bashing his skull against a brick wall.

But for now, as the Yeti was otherwise occupied trying to get Nick to listen to the situation—something that was failing miserably as it was only a few weeks before Christmas, and the man was far too busy to coherently understand the Yeti—Frost found his way to the one room that every child dreamed of. The Toy Factory Room.

"Wow…" He grinned from ear to ear. He was so excited that he didn't notice the little elf scurrying beneath his feet until he literally tripped over the pointy hatted being. "Whoa!" He flung out his hands in an attempt to catch himself, but in his panic, he accidentally let out a wave of icy power. He flash-froze half the room, halting production and inadvertently shattering several hundred toys.

"Oh, no." North muttered to himself. He felt his face flush with shame. He remembered, now. He'd been to angry and stressed to recognize Jack later on, but… no, he remembered now.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Nick stormed out of his office, Phil trailing after him. The Yeti's eyes went wide as he stared at Frost in a mix of anger and horror.

"I-I-It was an accident, I swear! I slipped, and—"

"Is TWO WEEKS before Christmas! Why you come here and _destroy_ toys?!" His booming voice was obviously frightening the boy, but Nick didn't seem to notice. "You are _banned from my workshop!_ " He looked to his Yetis. "Throw him out! And do not let him back in!" He bellowed, red in the face. "You are now on naughty list, Jack Frost." He glared.

"But it wasn't my fault!" Frost protested, but his words fell on deaf ears. His shoulders drooped as his earlier excitement turned to hurt disappointment. Phil picked up the boy by the back of his shirt and threw him out into the snow.

"W-wait!" He called out to the Yeti as he went to close the door. For whatever reason, the Yeti paused, leaving the door open a crack to listen to what the child had to say. "Can… erm… I maybe… Come talk to you sometime? I mean, even if I can't understand you… You can still see me, and… that's what I need right now. So…" He sent Phil a grin. "I'll play with you another time, 'kay Phil?" He grinned as the Yeti blinked in surprise at the sudden name. Before he could answer the white-haired youth, he was already soaring away on the wind, heading for MiM-knew where.

"Well… that was eventful." Bunny sighed.

"I am so sorry, Jack. I should never have spoken to you that way… nor should I have had you thrown out of workshop." North apologized.

"Hey, don't worry so much, North! What's done is done, and it's all good now!" Jack beamed. "You've made up for it, so don't worry!"

"I think ya forgive a bit too easily, there, Frostbite." Bunny's ears were back in sadness and a bit of fear. _If this is what happened with him and North… then was the Blizzard of '98 just a misunderstanding, too?_ The guilt welling up within him told him that he already knew the answer. He just refused to acknowledge it.

Jack sighed as the next memory cropped up. He knew this was still going to take awhile, but… _I was about 200 when that happened…_ He shivered. "You'd better not show that one, MiM… or I swear, I'll never forgive you." Jack muttered under his breath. Bunny and Sandy were the only ones who heard him.

The two shared a confused and worried look. They hoped that whatever had happened to their Snowflake wasn't as bad as their imaginations told them it was.

Their gut said otherwise.

 ** _A/N: Hello~ Sorry it's been so long. I've been caught back up in the Hetalia Fandom again, but I've also been overworked between my two jobs. I clocked nearly 50 hours one week, it was crazy! But things should be (hopefully) calming down a bit now that I've moved into a room for rent._**

 ** _Onto other news. Easter is around the corner. And Rise of the Guardians—despite it constantly being seen as a Christmas movie—actually takes place during Easter. So I find this rather fitting that I'd update the month of Easter. If I don't update again before said holiday, HAPPY EASTER YA LITTLE ANKLE BITERS! (since I know most of you are kids)_**

 ** _ALSO! I was going to update this yesterday (On April 9), but my wifi glitched out (it's 11:50PM as I write this) and I couldn't access the internet. D: So that's why it's updated on the 10_** ** _th_** ** _, instead of the 9_** ** _th_** ** _._**

 ** _Words: 1,432_**

 ** _Pages: 3_**

 ** _Posted: 04/10/2019_**

 ** _Random Facts about this Author:_**

 ** _I'm 23_**

 ** _I identify as Female (the sex I was born as)_**

 ** _I love anime with a terrifying passion_**

 ** _Hetalia is my favorite anime (and favorite fanfiction topic to write about)_**

 ** _I have like no social life_**

 ** _I'm a lazy dragon who hoards files on a computer_**

 ** _I'm making a Hetalia RPG on my computer_**

 ** _I want to major in Computer Programming_**

 ** _I own a cat, and she's the most adorable, fluffy, sweet lil piece of toasted marshmallow you'll ever find~ plus she's a rescue! Her name is Mia, and she's my baby~!_**

 ** _I love Assassin's Creed_**


	9. Chapter 9: Anger and Loneliness

**_Chapter 9: Anger and Loneliness_**

The next memory opened in a blur of color and chaos. Frost had broken into North's Workshop again, and been caught by Phil. Though the Yeti seemed put out, he also seemed to slowly be growing fond of the young winter spirit.

"How many times did you try to break into workshop?" North asked, curious.

"Hm… well if I had to guess, I'd say probably at least 15 times a year, if not more." Jack answered after a moment.

"Didn't you have somethin' better to do?" Bunny shot Jack a disapproving glare.

"No, not really. Other than spreading Winter, trying to break into Santa's workshop and pranking the random bystander was my only real pastime." Jack shrugged.

"What about hanging out with friends?" Tooth suggested worriedly, and Jack couldn't help but scoff.

"What friends?" He muttered lowly, but they all managed to catch it.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bunny furrowed his brows.

"You guys really don't get it, do you?" Jack huffed. He was becoming frustrated with how the other Guardians kept trying to sugarcoat his 300 years of solitude. They had this idea in their head that he'd had people to rely on. That he'd had friends or something… He had no idea where they got that notion from, but it was wrong.

"I'm sorry?" Tooth tilted her head. She was somewhat offended at the tone Jack had taken with them, but figured that her Sweet Tooth was just stressed from watching these memories.

"Hey, now, there's no need to go bitin' people's heads off." Bunny twitched in irritation.

"I think I've every _right_ to bite people's heads off. You keep making light of those three hundred years of _Hell_. You have _no idea_ what I went through! None! Do you have _any_ concept of how _lonely_ it is?! When _nobody_ can see you! Or hear you! And those that _can_ want _nothing_ to do with you?! And if you're _lucky_ , they'll simply ignore you, and pretend you don't exist. For three centuries, that was all I'd ever known! And while you guys sat around, bribing children into seeing you, and became drunk off your belief, _I_ was running for my life and scavenging _trash bins_ for my dinner! But oh, who cares about _Jack fucking Frost_ anyhow?! He's a spirit, so nobody really cares! Nobody likes winter anyways, so we'd be better off with him _dead_! Yet no matter how many times they tried, I just wouldn't die. Guess I'm just cursed that way. And you know what?! Jamie was the first kid who wasn't dying to see me, but he'll die one day, too! And with him and his friends, my belief will be gone again." He took several deep, calming breaths.

He didn't realize he'd started yelling. These words had been locked up within him for so long, and now that there were people to listen to him, it'd all come bursting forth like the breaking of some great dam.

The Guardians stared at him wide-eyed. Tooth had tears running down her face, and Bunny looked like he'd been punched in the gut. Sandy looked angry (on Jack's behalf), and North had paled quite dangerously. The silence rung in the ears of all five people.

Luckily, before anyone could say anything else, the memory took over again, having finished the little montage of breaking into the Workshop.

"Hey, Wind… did you know? The Japanese word for you is 'kaze'." Frost grinned as he leaned back against a snow bank. "If you want, I can call you Kaze, like a name. Wind is kind of more like what you are, rather than who you are." He laughed as the newly dubbed Kaze ruffled his hair.

"Good to hear! I was thinking…" Frost cut himself off when he heard a branch snap. His head whipped up, and he took a defensive stance, startling the Guardians.

 _"Jack is 73 in this memory."_ MiM informed, causing Jack to wince. _Ouch… this won't be fun._

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" A man with a dark tan and flaming red hair stepped out from behind a tree. The snow beneath his bare feet melted instantly, and steam rose from the ground where he stood.

The instant Frost caught sight of him, he paled dangerously. He trembled in fear. "D-Damian!" He stuttered as he backed up, trying to put as much space between the two of them as possible. "W-what're you doing here? It's the middle of January… We've still got at _least_ a couple months of winter left…"

Damian took a step forward and smirked wickedly. "Oh, I know. But I'm not here to warm the weather… _yet_. I'm here for _you_."

"I've done nothing wrong!" Frost defended himself. He tightened his grip on his staff, ready to run at the drop of a hat.

"Nothing wrong?" Damian laughed. "You're existence is wrong! Nobody needs something like you. You're useless! Winter can spread on its own; there's no need for a _mistake_ like you to run around causing trouble for everyone. So do us all a favor… And die." He grinned as several summer sprites came out from the foliage behind Frost, and quickly knocked his staff out of his hands.

The Guardians watched in horror as they forcefully held him up, their touch burning the winter spirit with a terrifying hiss. Frost's eyes were wide with terror, and he cried out in pain as Damian took his face in his hand, blistering the skin he touched.

"Not so tough now, are you?" He laughed.

"H-hey… we should hurry it up. If Freyr catches us, you know there'll be trouble. He doesn't like conflict between seasons like this." One of the sprites spoke up, causing Damian to shoot him a glare.

"Tch. Fine." He pulled out a wicked looking dagger, and Frost's pupils dilated and his efforts to escape increased tenfold.

Jack watched the scene with cold eyes. "If you've a weak stomach, I suggest you cover your eyes now. And possibly your ears."

"Wh-what?!" Tooth couldn't find it in herself to hover anymore. She sunk to her knees in horror. What happened to her Sweet Tooth?! Why would they do this to him?!

North's fists were balled up in anger, no, _fury._ How _dare_ these summer spirits do this to his _son_?!

Sandy looked ready to kill. He wouldn't mind sending _Pitch_ after these guys. Even if it was only for a few decades.

Bunny, on the other hand, watched the scene unfold in despair. He'd seen torture before. He'd _been_ tortured before. But most of that was emotional… mental… not _physical_ like this. And to watch such a carefree child be literally sliced up by a blade made of the season that was his polar opposite…

Everybody winced when Frost's first scream tore through his throat. It was guttural… painful didn't even begin to describe it. Baby Tooth hid in Jack's hood, covering her ears and trembling in fear. Jack smiled softly at her, and cupped his hands around her to help block out the sound.

At one point, Damian buried his blade up to the hilt in Frost's torso. That scream was the worst. The group of Summer Sprites laughed as they sent a wave of heat at the Spirit of Winter before they took the blade and left.

The wind swirled around angrily… worriedly.

The Guardians waited for someone to show up and help Frost. Surely, someone had come along to help him?

"Ow…" Frost moved carefully. His broken ribs and busted leg made moving neigh impossible. The stab wound only made matters worse. But he knew that if he were to stay there, he'd die. He painstakingly dragged himself to his feet and started to stumble out of the ring of melted snow that had been caused by the summer sprites and back towards the comforting cold of his season. The trail of red left behind him bothered the Guardians more than they were willing to admit.

After what felt like hours, he managed to stumble into a pristine snowdrift. The white of his season slowly stained crimson, and Frost stared in fascination. "Huh… it's so… pretty." He noted aloud with a wince. His voice was hoarse, and he quickly picked up a handful of snow and ate it like an apple.

He sighed in relief, before picking up more snow and packing it into his profusely bleeding stab wound. He then held one hand over it, and concentrated. It hardened into ice.

"There… That should stop the bleeding…" He muttered. There were several other cuts and countless burns all over his body, but he looked exhausted. "However…"

He looked over at his staff, which had been knocked out of his hands earlier. It lay a good few feet away, and he groaned. "Why is it so far away?"

He glared at the sky as if it was merely an inconvenience before staggering to his feet once more. He used the tree beside him to balance himself as he limped towards his staff.

The moment he grasped it, the tension left his shoulders. He looked like a kid with their comfort object. The Guardians realized with a start that that's _exactly_ what this was—minus the powers, of course.

Frost carefully probed his broken leg, finding the break. "This is gonna suck…" He took a deep breath before setting his leg himself.

He swayed where he sat, nearly blacking out from the pain, before shaking his head to clear the black spots that had intruded upon his vision. He then concentrated his powers on his leg, wincing a bit as the ice crept over the _bone_ itself, holding it in place and helping to reduce the swelling from the inside.

"You set your own leg?" North blinked in shock.

"Yeah, not like anyone else was gonna do it for me." Jack answered sardonically. He was still peeved about earlier, and the Guardians took the hint for once and backed off.

"All right, Kaze… _Now_ we can go somewhere safer." Frost smiled.

And as the wind picked him up as gently as it could, the Guardians caught one last whispered statement from the memory of their youngest member. "You truly are my only friend, Kaze… thank you."

 ** _A/N: So my motivation for this story seems to be back… or something. Let's not jinx things. But I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. Lots of heavy stuff in this one. I'm sorry, but Jack's past is not pretty. There will be torture scenes. I will put up warnings at the beginning of those chapters, but they will happen. Jack did cuss and drop the f-bomb, but that's only because he was seriously angry. 300 years of pent-up emotion had to explode at some point, right?_**

 ** _Let me know what you thought of this chapter, and leave a review! And I'm sorry for not updating for so long. Which is why I've updated twice in a row. (No I literally wrote this chapter in 1 hour… holy crap)._**

 ** _Words: 1,716_**

 ** _Pages: 4_**

 ** _Posted: 04/10/2019_**


	10. Chapter 10: A Flare of Hope

**_Chapter 10: A Flare of Hope_**

The next memory faded in to show Frost, now fully recovered, gliding gracefully atop the wind. He looked almost ethereal, now, compared to his initial klutziness that had him falling out of the sky at random intervals.

He seemed to be enjoying spreading winter around London, when a sudden high-pitched scream filled the air, only to be abruptly cut off. Frost immediately sped towards the source of the sound—a river. The fast moving waters had pulled a young girl under the surface of the water.

 _"Guardians. Jack is 104 in this memory."_

"So that's what… 18…er…" Bunny scratched his head, unable to remember the year Jack was born.

"1816." Jack spoke up. He looked down at the struggling child who could scarcely keep her head above the icy waters.

"A-a kid?!" Frost looked around desperately, trying to find someone nearby who could save her, but it seemed that nobody was around. "Looks like I'll have to try." He flew down towards the water, trying to get to the girl, but there were too many low-hanging trees to be of any help from the sky. "Guess I'll have to dive in, then." He went to fly into the water, before he froze.

"What is wrong?" North asked, looking at the petrified memory-Jack.

"W-why can't I move?" A sudden flash of being pulled under the surface of the lake as a human was shown, though it was too fast to process if you didn't already know what it was.

"You're scared." Tooth realized. "You're afraid of water."

"Gee, I wonder why?" Jack shot back sarcastically. "Sorry, Tooth. I don't mean to be such a brat, I'm just… overwhelmed. Seeing all these memories again…"

"It's alright, Frostbite. We can understand." Bunny placed a comforting paw on his shoulder, causing the white-haired youth to blink up at the Pooka in surprise.

"That's a new one, comin' from you." He smirked.

"Sh-shut up!" Bunny quickly pulled away his paw.

"Aww, you _do_ care!" Jack teased, and the Guardians relaxed at the familiar banter.

"I… I have to save her!" Frost shook himself, and forced his trembling to subside as he dove headfirst into the waters. The memory was encompassed in black for a moment before clearing to show a still obviously scared Frost fighting the fierce currents of the icy water.

It didn't help that his heightened emotions made controlling his winter powers harder, and he had to fight to keep himself from freezing the water around him.

It took far too long, but he finally made it to the child. Her struggles were weak, and she looked to be giving up. "Don't you dare!" He yelled at her. Upon closer inspection, she wasn't quite a young child. She looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years of age; old enough to not believe.

Yet, at the sound of his voice, her blurry eyes focused upon the white-haired spirit. "I know you can't hear me, but! Don't you _dare_ stop fighting! You can do this! Just… Hold on!" He cried out desperately.

The girl reached out a hand towards the white-haired youth, shocking him for a brief moment before he reached back out. He barely managed to grab her hand, and called the wind again.

"KAZE!" He cried out, as the wind managed to pick him up out of the water. He kept a hold of the girl, and the two of them flew away from the frigid death trap that had nearly claimed her life.

The two landed somewhere that was sheltered and secluded. "You okay? Man! You scared the crap out of me! And… I could… touch you…" He blinked owlishly at the girl, who looked on the brink of passing out.

"Who… are you?" She managed to wheeze out through her coughs.

"I-I'm Jack Frost… Spirit of Winter." He stuttered out, in disbelief.

"I…" She pitched forward, out cold. Frost's excitement died suddenly and was abruptly replaced with worry.

He gathered up wood, seeing that the sky was darkening. "Let's see if I can do this…" He pulled out a flint and steel that he'd snitched off of some guy on the street. He gathered the kindling into a neat little pile beneath the wood, and struck. It took several attempts, before the fire flared to life, nearly scorching the one who'd created it.

"Ah!" He fell back in surprise as the flames happily munched upon the offered feast of wood. "Well, that's that taken care of." He smiled as the girl snuggled closer to the flames in her sleep. "You won't survive the night without some kind of heat." He spoke, "so I thought I'd give this a try. I've never built a fire before. You know, since I'm a winter spirit and all… I don't _get_ cold. I don't even know what cold feels like. People say it's painful, but… It's comforting to me. Heat's the painful sensation for me. And warm days just sap my strength. But I can create the most beautiful winter you've ever seen!" He spoke to the unconscious girl all through the night, even as he kept the fire burning bright.

Despite the discomfort the extra heat caused him, he couldn't stop grinning. "You know, it's crazy! Finally, someone can see me! I mean, I've been asking for this day for over a hundred years! I swear, I was gonna go crazy if someone didn't talk to me! Just last year, I swear my reflection spoke back to me! I'm not kidding! And I even gave my _shadow_ a name! If my only friends are a reflection, a shadow, a _rock_ and the wind, then my social circle needs some _serious_ improvements. Though I once saw a guy talking to a _stick_ , so I still think I'm better off than him…"

Just around sunrise, the girl started to stir. "Ah! You're awake! How'd you sleep? Are you cold? Well, I mean of _course_ you are! It's snowing out here, but I hope the fire kept you at least a little bit warm! Like I said earlier, I'm Jack Frost, and I'm the one that saved you from the river yesterday. What happened, anyways? Did you fall in or something? And oh, wow, I didn't even catch your name!" He smiled as he rambled, too excited to pace his own speech.

The girl looked around, confused. "Where am I?" She winced as she held her head, coming away with dried blood.

"Oh! You must've hit your head when you fell in! I'm so sorry! I don't really know how to tend to other peoples' injuries…" Frost looked down for a moment, before looking up again with a grin as the girl got to her feet unsteadily, using the nearby alley wall to balance herself. "But there's no need to worry, I'm sure you can—"

In that moment, she walked through him. He gasped, clutching his chest in pain as the memory hazed for a brief moment. "W-what?! But… you could… she could… see me…" He turned in disbelief.

Bunny winced fiercely. As the Guardian of Hope, he could sense the hope within all living things. And he could, to an extent, feel the hope of memory-Jack. And whatever hope he'd had well up within him over the last century, had just been brutally crushed. And watching hope die was the fastest way to depress the Pooka.

"Oh, no…" His ears drooped with sorrow as he realized what had happened.

"She forgot she saw you…" Tooth realized. "The concussion…"

"You'd finally had a believer…" North swallowed thickly, fighting the tears.

Sandy didn't have any kind of reservations. He hugged the winter spirit as golden tears ran down his sandy cheeks.

"Hey, now. What's with the tears and sad faces? Come on, guys! You're killin' my center, here!" Jack grinned. "I think we'll need another break soon. You guys are makin' me all depressed over here." He laughed.

"But you…" Tooth looked towards the girl who walked away, leaving a very lonely winter spirit beside the brightly burning fire to dwell upon his emotions alone.

"Lived through this already." Jack finished. "It's done. The past is the past. But I've got believers, now!" He grinned, and the Guardians were abruptly reminded of his earlier outburst.

None of them mentioned that Jamie would one day die, and leave Jack alone again. They didn't like seeing him so downtrodden. It didn't look right on the fun-loving boy.

A sudden thought occurred to Sandy, who created a golden exclamation point. He made the image of the kids of Burgess and Jack, before letting the kids fade away. Little Sand-Jack then fell to his knees and passed out.

"That's right!" Bunny paled. "A Guardian without believers…"

"Oh, no…" Tooth's eyes went wide.

"Normally, they die, right?" Jack spoke up. "But don't worry. That doesn't affect me. Unlike you guys, who need that belief to continue existing as you are, I am first and foremost winter. And so long as my season exists, and nobody kills me, I'll survive." He smirked. "Come on, you can't be rid of me _that_ easily!" He teased.

"Still… I am not wanting to take risk." North shifted.

"Look, guys! You're too serious! Come on, let's cheer up a bit! Where's that holiday cheer? Don't tell me Easter and Christmas are _always_ this depressing!" Jack smirked. For a moment, he considered using one of his Special Snowflakes to bring the mood up. _Nah… I'll save that for the break._ He cackled quietly to himself as he planned out his next prank. He'd tell Sandy later, and bring his little golden friend in on it, but for now, Baby Tooth would be his accomplice.

 ** _A/N: Wow, I'm on a roll! Update number 3~! It's short, but we're working our way through the memories, slowly but surely. I may end up going back and adding in more at some point, but for now, we'll just work our way through to that one horrible memory Jack wants to forget, and the movie. Wonder how Sandy will react to what the other three did in the movie? *Evil Smirk*_**

 ** _Words: 1,623_**

 ** _Pages: 3_**

 ** _Posted: 04/11/2019_**


	11. Chapter 11: Fun

**_Chapter 11: Fun_**

The memory faded in with a mischievous chuckle. Frost was flying over Germany, when he spotted a businessman who was far too serious. He stopped and decided to play around for a bit. There was a snowball fight just a little ways away, and the man's son was partaking in it. "You, sir, look like you could use a bit of _fun_." Frost decided.

"Hmm… but how to get you over there…?" He suddenly smirked, and created ice underneath the man's foot. He slipped, but instead of simply falling, Frost made a trail of ice, just like he would eventually do for Jamie and his sled.

"Aaargh!" The man cried out as he was shepherded by the invisible winter spirit right to the middle of the admittedly lively snowball war.

"Dad?!" One of the kids called out in shock. He stared. "W-what're you doing here?! I thought you had a meeting today!"

"Isn't your vati super strict and stuff?" One kid whispered to the other.

"Y-yeah. So I don't understand why he'd be here. He's the exact _opposite_ of fun." He pouted.

"Opposite of fun?! Well, we can't have that, now can we?" Frost laughed. "But how to get someone like you to—" He shuddered as the man suddenly got up, dusted himself, and walked through him.

But this time, instead of simply walking through him and making Frost feel cold and desolate, something entirely new happened.

The memory shook, and several images passed by.

The man, now a boy, tried playing with his own father. He grew up alone, and impoverished. Nobody would play with him, and his mother had died young. His father was always working hard to put food on the table, and had no time for 'useless games' as he called them.

Through hard work, he managed to get a job when he became a teenager. As he grew, he forgot the Guardians of Childhood. His own childhood had been drawn in grays and monotone colors, rather than bright vivid colors as they should have been. Something important was missing.

A moment later, they were back in the original memory.

"What the hell was _that_?!" Bunny looked around, expecting something else to suddenly crop up.

"It's part of my center." Jack explained. "When I'm walked through by individuals who've forgotten how to have fun, I get glimpses of their childhoods, or pasts so I know how to revive that spark of fun." He grinned. "Just watch and learn, Kangaroo."

"And the stupid nickname is back." Bunny pouted. "I'M A BUNNY!"

"Yeah, sure. Whatever you say. I was more inclined to believe that when you were tiny." Jack chuckled.

"OI!"

Frost shook his head, coming back to the present. "That was… sad." He looked at the man with sympathy, before his expression morphed into one of determination. "Well, time to teach you how to have fun, then." He grinned. "Adult or kid. It doesn't matter." He created a snowball. "Everyone can have fun." He instinctively blew on his snowball, a light icy-blue mist coated it, making it shine. He startled a bit, looking at it before shrugging.

His aim was true, and it smacked the irate adult right in the face. All the kids froze, afraid of the consequences of speaking out.

For a moment, it looked like nothing was going to happen. Then, a spark lit up in the man's eyes. As he discreetly scooped up snow and packed it into a ball. He then threw it right at his son, catching him in the face, shocking the boy.

"D-dad?!"

"So, who's team am I on? Come on, I'll show you guys how to _properly_ build a fort!" The kids stared in shock for a moment, before they let out a massive cheer.

"You just saved their relationship." Tooth stared. "That's incredible. Our powers aren't supposed to work on adults."

"Well have you ever tried?" Jack shot back, a smirk on his face. "I mean, nobody ever taught me anything, so I figured it all out by myself. They say someone who isn't taught limitations doesn't have any." He laughed. "I guess it's true."

"HA!" North grinned as he went to make a snowball as well, but the snow stubbornly would not be scooped up. "What?! Nyet!"

"It's a _memory_ , North." Bunny pointed out. "There's no actual snow, here."

Jack smirked, creating a snowball. Nobody noticed until it smacked Bunny upside the head. He turned, blinking owlishly at the winter spirit, who cackled gleefully.

"Ya bloody showpony!" He growled, attempting to scoop up some snow, himself, for retaliation, only to find his paw pass through air.

"Is a memory, Bunny. No snow." North pointed out with no small amount of amusement.

"I KNOW THAT!" The rabbit bristled.

The memory shifted again. "You know… Kaze, I can still have fun, even _if_ people can't see me… I can be the invisible snowball thrower." Frost chuckled, adding a twirl to his stride. "Maybe I should pick up some other hobbies?" He speculated.

"Oh?" North raised an interested eyebrow.

"Hmm…" Frost listened as Kaze said something. "Yeah! That's a great idea! I should learn other languages, too, while I'm at it!" He grinned. "I'll learn something from each country!"

With that thought, he flew off. "First stop, Asia!"

There was a sequence of memories, showing him learning several things from different nations. He learned how to play the Koto in Japan, as well as the fan dance. He learned medicine from China and several other countries. He learned the Hopak dance from Russia, and art from Italy. He learned some culinary skills from France, and mechanics from Germany. Frost picked up several practical traveling skills from Romania. He revisited several countries to learn dances, instruments, and artistic pursuits to help fill his seemingly endless lonely days.

His new artistic talents showed in his frost designs, and the Guardians were blown away by just how much he'd learned in such a short span of time—for learning all this took him less than a century.

"So _that's_ where ya learned to paint." Bunny noted, as he saw Frost studying several noteworthy painters from Italy.

"Yeah! It was fun, learning how to draw and paint and stuff!" He grinned. "And nobody ever noticed paints and brushes go missing, so I could just take whatever I needed."

"Jack!" Tooth admonished. "That's _stealing!_ "

"Nooo, I thought it was a gift." Jack rolled his eyes. "Sorry… sarcasm is my default when stressed." He shrugged. "At any rate, this is just how things were. I never really learned how to use money or anything, and had to learn right from wrong by myself. Remember, I had no memories from my human life. So I had no concept of these things. And since nobody would take the time to talk to me, I had to figure out _everything_ by myself."

Tooth blinked as a thought suddenly occurred to her. "Jack?"

"Mmm?" He looked over at the hovering fairy lazily, enjoying the lighter atmosphere.

"Does that mean… umm… Have you ever had… _The Talk_?" The other Guardians froze, looking horrified.

"I am _not_ giving Jack Frost _The Talk!_ " Bunny refused at once.

"TOOTH!" Jack cried out, flushing a bright blue. "I _do_ know what sex is!" He looked incredibly embarrassed. "So there's no need for that! I've listened in on several talks before, so there's really no need!" He denied fervently.

North let out a large sigh of relief. "Not wanting to give that to anyone. Ever."

Sandy nodded in agreement, feeling like he'd just dodged a bullet. The three Guardians shot Tooth a mild glare for bringing up such a possibility.

"What?" She looked at them, confused. Baby Tooth facepalmed and shook her head, snuggling into Jack's hoodie. Sometimes, her mother was so clueless.

"So when was this, anyhow? Are we nearly through your memories?" Tooth asked, curious.

"I'd say this is the late 1800's to early 1900's. So we'll be hitting the World Wars soon…" Jack winced when he remembered what happened. _It's coming up so fast… But there's still a couple hurdles first. Like 1912…_ He sighed.

"Let's just get this over with." He decided, as the happy memory faded away, leaving trepidation in its wake.

 ** _A/N: Holy crap! Another update! I'm on fire! Yeah! Hope you are all enjoying this. This may not be one of my more popular stories (like my Hetalia ones get about 100 comments within the first hour of posting, this one gets maybe 20 in the first day if I'm lucky), but it's still fun to write. As long as I know people are enjoying it, I'll keep writing it. ^^ We're reaching the 20_** ** _th_** ** _century, now. So next we've got the Titanic, World War 1, that mysterious event, World War 2, and then maybe a few more modern-esque mishaps before finally reaching the movie in 2012. Please look forward to the next update~!_**

 ** _Words: 1,376_**

 ** _Pages: 3_**

 ** _Posted: 04/11/2019_**


	12. Chapter 12: The Titanic

**_Chapter 11: The Titanic_**

Jack winced when the next memory opened. Frost was upset. Jack had learned a long time ago that when his emotions ran rampant, so did his powers. He learned that after the…

"Oh, no…" He winced.

"What's wrong, Sweet Tooth?"

"Y-you'll see… This is 1912." He sighed. The other guardians shared looks of confusion.

 _"Guardians… Jack is 200 in this memory."_ MiM informed, causing the group to jump.

"Manny! Do not scare us like that!" North pouted.

"So why were you so upset?" Tooth asked, looking at Frost as he flew through the sky. He held his side like he was injured, and tears froze to his cheeks. A few stray tears that managed not to freeze entirely fell as snowflakes to the white earth below.

"Nothing too bad. Just Damian and his group again, that's all." Jack informed them.

"Nothing _too bad?!_ " Bunny scoffed. "Considering what we saw last time, I'd say you're lucky to be alive." He glared off in the direction Frost had come from. "If I ever see those Summer Sprites again, I swear I'll show 'em just how terrifying a Pooka can be."

"Yeah! Nobody messes with my Sweet Tooth!"

"Guys, guys, calm down! There's really no need for that!" Jack chuckled. "I can fight him off, now. I'm a big boy."

"Nyet. We are needing to feel useful and protect you." North flushed.

"What he means to say, Frostbite, is that we weren't there for ya when we should've been. So let us be there for you now." Bunny amended.

"But… I can handle things on my own. I studied several fighting techniques from all over the world, and Damian gave me plenty of practice. I can hold my own in a fight, you know."

Frost eventually grew tired of flying blindly in his pain and anger. Damian's voice echoed as Frost recalled what had been said. _"Nobody likes winter. You can just go die for all we care. In fact, the world would celebrate!" The Summer Sprite's laughter echoed._

 _"N-No, you're wrong! Winter is necessary!" Frost's voice protested, but he sounded unsure._

 _"Winter is, but_ you _are not. Nobody likes you. Nobody cares about you. You are unnecessary, unneeded, unwanted. You cause a mess wherever you go! You're a murderer who covers up the blood on his hands with laughter and immaturity! Honestly, how you ever became a seasonal sprite, I'll never know."_

 _"I'm a spirit, not a sprite." Frost protested._

 _"Ha! You don't even know the difference?! A Sprite is someone who helps spread a season or concept. A Spirit is born of that season, and is essentially a representation or personification of that season or concept. Like how Santa is the Spirit of Christmas, or the Easter Bunny is the Spirit of Hope. If those concepts die, then so do they. You on the other hand are a Sprite. You have no concept. No_ core _."_

 _"You're wrong… I'm the Spirit of Winter."_ There was silence for a moment as the Summer Sprites took in the sudden information.

 _"Damian… I think he's tellin' the truth… I mean, even the wind listens to him."_ Another voice said.

 _"Tch… Spirit of Winter, huh? So you're even more of a monster than we first thought. Freak."_ Damian spat. _"That just means that you should die sooner. You really shouldn't have told us that. Now_ everyone _is going to be after your head. Not just us. Because the last Spirit of Winter tried to freeze over the world. You're too dangerous to let live. Nobody can handle an entire season on their own. It's impossible! Each season has hundreds of sprites and spirits to help spread out that burden, but you? You've got nobody. Winter sure is the lonely season, isn't it? Mark my words,_ boy _. One day, your season will drive you_ mad _, and when you finally snap and go insane, you'll kill the world. So it's nothing too personal… I'm just going to kill you to protect everyone, that's all."_

The voices stopped as Frost realized he was flying over the ocean. He sank down onto the surface of the water as a fierce storm kicked up due to his emotional state. The water froze beneath him, forming a small platform on which he could sit. He looked around, seeing nothing but open waters.

"Now… it's okay to let loose, right?" He asked the Wind, who gently caressed his friend.

With that, Frost brought his knees up to his chest, ignoring his undoubtedly broken ribs, and cried. It started as small whimpers that dissolved into full out sobs and screams. "WHY!? WHY DID YOU CREATE ME?!" He screamed. "I've got no purpose! I hurt people, and now I find out that I truly _am_ alone in my season?! Why…?! Why am I here?! WHY WON'T YOU ANSWER ME! Am I just some plaything to you?! Some form of entertainment so you can get off on watching me suffer?! I'M DONE! No more!" Frost created an ice-dagger in his hand, and the Guardians watched in horror as he positioned it to pierce his heart.

"J-Jack…" Tooth stared in shock.

"I'm so tired… I don't want to be alone anymore. So please… Haven't I suffered enough?" He looked up to the crescent moon. He was just about to plunge the knife into his chest, when a loud rumbling startled the white-haired boy.

His eyes widened in horrified realization as he looked behind him. In his emotional distress, the small piece of ice he'd been sitting on had grown into a superb iceberg. And a very large ship was heading straight towards it.

 _S. S. Titanic_ was written across the side of the iconic vessel. The Guardian's looked absolutely heartbroken.

"No… To think… that this is what really happened…" Bunny's eyes were wide. How could that kid smile after everything that's happened to him?

"S-Stop!" Frost cried out, trying to move the iceberg out of the way. But he was too late. The ship had gotten too close. It hit the iceberg with a terrifying groan, and panic soon reigned throughout the once quiet seas.

He tried to help where he could, but nobody could see or touch him. Then, hours later, as hundreds of people floated dying in the icy waters, a man looked up and saw the spirit, who was still trying to help whoever he could by creating ice-platforms for them to hold on to, or climb up on.

"You… you created that iceberg." He accused, and his voice rung out softly across the watery graveyard. Frost whipped around in shock.

"I-it was an accident! Nobody was supposed to be out here!" His face was a twisted mix of guilt and grief. Tears froze thickly to his cheeks.

"Whether you intended it or not…" The man wheezed. "It's your fault. My family is _dead_ because of you. And soon, I will be too. I will carry my hatred for you to my grave. We all will. Know that you have ended hundreds of lives this night. Our blood… is forever on your hands… Spirit of Death." The man's eyes dulled as his breath finally stopped, and he fell into an eternal slumber.

"But… I didn't…" Frost backed away, looking around him. Over a thousand people floated all around him. None of them were breathing or moving. It was like a vast watery floating graveyard, and in that moment, something within the winter spirit broke. His shoulders sagged. "I guess I am just a monster." He abruptly flew off towards Antarctica as the memory faded away.

"How terrible! Jack, you know what he said was wrong, don't you?! That wasn't your fault!" Tooth reassured, but Jack shook his head.

"No, Tooth. He was right. If I hadn't been having that temper tantrum, I wouldn't be responsible for the ending of over 1,500 lives. I was being selfish, and they paid the price. I can never forgive myself for that." He sighed. "But I suppose I've repented. At the very least, Karma came and collected." He laughed dryly to himself, and the cold bitter expression on his face bothered the Guardians more than they were willing to admit.

North sighed to himself as he shared a look with Bunny and Sandy. They had a lot of work to do. It seemed Jack wasn't quite as carefree as he led them to believe…

 ** _A/N: HOLY SCHEIßE! A triple update! What magic is this?! Whelp, we've gotten the Titanic outta the way. I never saw the movie, though I did do a bit of research. I once walked in on my cousin watching part of the end, which I used inspiration from for the imagery you've seen here in this chapter. I added in the part about the guy blaming Jack to give it more umph and emphasize Jack's guilt. Aside from that, if you were wondering why he could see Jack… Well, they're technically being killed by Winter, and those who die at winter's hand can see him, not just kids. But adults, too. Jack's just not usually around for that, is all._**

 ** _Words: 1,400_**

 ** _Pages: 3_**

 ** _Posted: 04/11/2019_**


	13. Chapter 13: War

**_Chapter 13: War_**

The Guardians weren't looking forward to the next memories. If the last one was any indication, they didn't want to see any more. And Jack still had yet to lose his melancholy expression, which put the others on edge. He looked centuries older without his smile, and it rubbed them the wrong way. With his face set into such a serious expression, and his white hair, if they squinted, they could mistake him for an old man.

"You know… I heard about this guy once… He's called Old Man Winter." Bunny spoke up suddenly.

"Yeah, I've met 'im." Jack replied, shoving his hands in his hoodie pocket. "He's a nice guy. But unfortunately, he's very busy, and doesn't have a lot of time. I didn't even know about him until recently, anyways."

"So he _is_ still around. Rumor said that he passed his mantle onto someone else." Bunny rubbed his chin.

"He did. I've met them both. Both the old one, Old Man Winter, and the new General Winter. Grandpa Winter's a bit of a grouch, but he's a good guy. Just a bit rough around the edges. But General Winter is… well… he's not what you'd expect. He's so bubbly and cheery, and he's honestly someone I'd peg for spring or autumn, not winter." Jack shrugged. "But I suppose everyone has their masks."

"Wow! I didn't know you could pass stuff like that on!" Tooth flitted around excitedly.

"Normally, you can't. But Grandpa Winter's a bit of a special case. The Four Generals are older than dirt, and know a great deal more than the rest of us. I'm the Spirit of Winter, which sorta makes me like his son or grandson. In other words, if General Winter is the King of Winter, then I'm the Prince of Winter." Jack explained.

"So there's a General Summer, General Autumn and General Spring, too?" Tooth tilted her head.

"Yeah, but Autumn and Spring are referred to as 'Admirals' instead of 'Generals'. No real reason. Just Admiral Autumn sounded better. Some people still say Sergeant Spring, but she threw a big hissy fit, saying that if her brother, Autumn, as an Admiral, then she was too."

"Wait… You've met them _all_?!" Bunny's eyes were wide. It was rare enough to meet _one_ of them, regardless of if you were a spirit, sprite, or Guardian, but to meet all _four_?!

"Technically, yeah. I've met Admiral Autumn, Sergeant Spring, General Winter, Old Man Winter, and both the old and new General Summer."

"Wait, so Summer gave up his mantle, too?" Tooth blinked.

"She. The old General Summer's a girl. She's Old Man Winter's sister, but call her old and you'll end up melted to the sands of the Lut Desert—hottest place on earth." Jack nodded sagely.

"So you've called her old, then." Bunny deadpanned.

"It was a mistake!" Jack defended himself. "Honestly, she looks really good for her age. But her protégé has a serious language problem. He cusses more than a sailor." Jack muttered. "Not that I've had too much contact with him, but apparently both the new Generals are blood-related twin brothers! Pretty crazy, right? Summer and Winter, twins. But I guess it's fitting, in a sense."

"So if you're essentially the second-in-command of Winter…" Bunny started, waiting for Jack to confirm the information. "Then does that mean that you've met the other princes of the seasons?"

"Well… You heard Damian mention 'Freyr', right? He's the Prince of Summer. He's also a very old Spirit who has been mistaken for a god by several different cultures." Jack informed. "But right now, the seats of prince or princess of Autumn and Spring are vacant." He shrugged. "At least as far as I know. But then again, the other spirits don't exactly keep me in the loop."

"So you're royalty?" Tooth's eyes glittered with excitement, causing Jack to take a step back.

"I-I guess? I've never really thought of it that way." He didn't like that look. It reminded him of the look Tooth gave him right before she'd stick her fingers in his mouth to look at his teeth.

The memory blurred to show Frost flying across a cloudy winter sky, drawing the Guardian's attention back to the matter at hand.

 _"Guardians. Jack is 205 in this memory."_ MiM informed.

"Great." Jack huffed. "We're right smack in the middle of World War One."

"Oh yeah…" North recalled. "Lots of very sad children who wanted presents."

Jack blinked, miffed. "That's it? Countless deaths, and all you remember is that kids were sad?"

"Mate, we never actually _saw_ the war. We just did our jobs." Bunny stated. "Spirits have no place in a human's war."

"So you really have no idea just how awful it was…" Jack spoke with a dawning realization. "B-but you guys have… _seen_ war, right?"

"Of course we have!" Tooth crossed her arms, and Jack relaxed a bit. "We've fought the darkness numerous times. Remember? You were part of this last war against Pitch."

"N-no, I mean human wars." His earlier trepidation reared its head.

"We have seen human war. But not for many centuries. After becoming Guardians, we only see whatever is going on during our holidays." North explained.

"Yeah, and my baby teeth are more than capable of handling themselves. I've never had one die on me before, so it's all good. Though like I'd said earlier, I hadn't been out in the field in centuries!" Tooth grinned, remembering how good it felt to go out and collect teeth again.

"Oh, no…" Jack looked at Sandy who shared a grave expression with Jack. "Sandy… have you seen any human wars like the World Wars?"

The little man shook his head. Several symbols flashed above his head. "So other than the dreams of children, you haven't? You've passed through some battlefields by accident, but you tried to steer clear of them?" The golden man nodded.

Jack heaved a heavy sigh. "I didn't expect this."

"Didn't expect what?" Bunny asked. He was growing frustrated. Why did Frostbite keep asking about war?

"Seasonal Spirits and Sprites work all year long. Not just one day. Not just around kids. We don't get to simply skip over battlefields. We don't get to turn away from war." He looked up at them. "We have to be there. Myself especially."

"What? But humans…"

"Die." Jack cut off Tooth. "I'm not just the Spirit of Winter, but part of Manny being allowed to bring me back tied me to Death, too. I'm technically a Death Spirit as well. Which means when a war of this scale breaks out, and there aren't enough reapers…" He looked towards the memory as Frost approached an old cabin. He went inside and grabbed a black hooded cloak that hung upon the wall. "I have to help them." Jack finished as his past self donned the Reaper's Cloak and pulled up the hood.

His staff glowed for a moment, the frost designs becoming more metallic and silvery-black, than silvery-blue. It seemed more dangerous, all of a sudden.

The Guardians gasped. "You're a Reaper?" Bunny stared in horror. Death was never something to take lightly, and this poor kid had been forced to kill all his life. No, he wasn't afraid of Jack. He was scared _for_ him.

"Only part-time." Jack gave a small, dark smile.

Frost sighed. "I hate war." He mumbled to himself as another Reaper clapped his shoulder.

"We all do." His voice was low and gravely. "Take care of yourself out there, kid."

"Heh. Ironic that the only people who care about me are those that bring death." He shook his head.

"So… are they your friends?" Tooth asked tentatively. Reapers were very mysterious, and nobody knew who any of them were. They didn't just kill humans, but spirits and sprites, too.

"Sort of. Reapers don't even know each other's identities, so they only know me by my Reaper Name." Jack explained. "Though I hope ol' man Death doesn't give me a hard time about you guys knowing. We're supposed to guard our identities fiercely. Even from each other. We aren't supposed to tell."

"Sorry, Peace, I don't mean to be so depressive." Frost apologized to his companion.

"It's all right, Life. It's honestly expected."

"Those are… unexpected names." Bunny blinked. "I thought that Reaper names were things to do with death… Like 'Despair' 'Grief' or 'Carnage'."

"They usually are." Jack nodded. "But there are four people who are different, and they're all part-time Reapers. The only part-timers. This guy and myself are two of them. We're given the opposing names of our Teachers."

"Teachers…?" Tooth looked lost.

"Yeah. The Four Horsemen. We're their second-in-commands." He explained softly, half-hoping that the Guardians didn't hear him.

"WHAT?!" _Oh well. They heard anyways._

"Yeah. I'm the 'Prince' of Death, I suppose you could say. I was the best Reaper, so he made me his successor. Meaning if anything ever happens to Death, I take his place. This guy," Jack jabbed his thumb at the red-cloaked companion. "Is the successor for War."

"So… you're… one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse… they've chosen…" Tooth's head was spinning, and the other Guardians looked somewhat mildly terrified.

"And this is why these things are secret. I'm hated enough as it is just being Winter. How much more do you think I'd be hated if they knew I was essentially _death_ , too?" Jack huffed, frustrated. "This is _exactly_ why we aren't even allowed to know each other's identities."

"We don't hate ya, Frostbite. It was just unexpected. Nobody even knew that the Horsemen were even still alive, let alone had protégés… They're still just legends, even to us spirits." Bunny explained. "Reapers, yeah. We all know they're real, but everyone thinks of Death as just another spirit… that the Four Horsemen are actually real…" He shook his head.

"That aside, now that you know how things work, maybe we should try getting through this memory?" Jack suggested. "War isn't exactly something I take joy in watching."

"R-right…"

The scene showed the two of them leaving the cabin. Instead of calling the wind like he always did, Frost instead climbed upon a black horse. Peace followed suit with a white one.

"What? I can't ride the wind as a Reaper! It'd be a dead giveaway to my identity! Very few people can ride the wind." Jack explained.

"Hey, Silence. How've you been?" Frost patted his stallion's neck softly, as the horse nickered.

"All right. C'mon, Crimson! Let's go!" Peace grinned as the two rode out. "You wanna call it, Life?"

"Sure!" Frost grinned as he held up his left hand. His index and middle fingers were held out before him, and as he slashed them horizontally, he yelled out a word in a foreign language that none of the Guardians recognized. A moment later, a tear appeared in the air, and a portal opened. The two rode straight into it with no hesitation.

"That's one of the Eight Primal Languages." Jack explained before Tooth could shoot off another question.

"Wait! One of _The_ Eight Primal Languages?!" Bunny's eyes were wide. Sandy had several images above his head.

"Yeah, there's Time, Creation, Destruction, Space, Life, Death, Mortal and Immortal. As you may know, only two languages are commonly known, Mortal and Immortal." Jack nodded.

"Yeah… Mortal is what the human languages evolved from, and Immortal is the language that all spirits and sprites instinctively know." Tooth nodded as she spoke. "So which one was that?!"

"Well, I know Mortal, Immortal, and Death… though I also know a few words from the Language of Life." Jack explained. "That was a word from the Language of Space, which is why it opened a rift in space to allow us to travel to another location."

"What about the others? Do you know more?" Bunny tilted his head.

"Not really. I'm fluent in the Language of Death, but most Reapers are. I only know a few from the Language of Life, because it's expected of me to know these things if I ever need to fulfill Death's role. Knowing a few words in the Language of Space is common for us, but nobody's allowed to touch the Languages of Time, Creation, or Destruction. They're all far too powerful for anyone other than the lords of those stations." Jack explained. "For the Primal Languages… other than Mortal and Immortal—which are used purely for communication—a single word holds a great deal of power. I could say the word 'die' in Death, and whatever I intend to die, will die."

"Mate, that's terrifying." Bunny gulped. He didn't want to imagine what would happen if Pitch ever learned that language.

"Yeah, why do you think only specific individuals are allowed to learn it? Aside from that, we are only allowed to use it off-duty under _very_ specific conditions. You know, like the end of the world or something." He shrugged.

Frost and Peace rode out onto the edge of a great battlefield. It was horrible. Bombs went off every so often, blowing people into pieces, and even _children_ were on the warfront. Some of them couldn't have been older than 17!

"How awful!" Tooth brought up her hand to cover her mouth. "Is this what war has become?"

"Yeah. It isn't swords anymore, Tooth. It's guns. Grenades. Cannons and bombs. Mines and gas. It's horrible, and mindless and all it brings is pain and suffering." Jack's eyes were shadowed, even as his past self looked at a wave of soldiers attempting to cross No Man's Land. He sighed, and waved his staff-turned-scythe. A wave of grey energy swept through the group, missing only a very specific few individuals.

Instead of falling to the ground, dead, as the Guardians expected, they continued their charge. A moment later, a landmine went off, blasting the group to pieces. The Guardians watched it unfold in horror.

"You see… A Reaper does not kill a person. We merely sever the connection between body and soul. They do not feel their death. They feel a sense of detachment in the moments before, as we sever their connection with their bodies." Jack explained.

"So…" Bunny looked at Jack. "So you just make death easier?"

"Yes. All living things must one day die. We just help make it peaceful. We erase the pain, and end the suffering. We guide them towards peace and rest, wherever that may be." He looked wistfully off at the tiny white orbs that floated up into the sky. The souls of the humans who'd died.

"So…" North sighed. "This is war?"

"Yes, North. This is war."

 ** _A/N: So that's one war covered. Sorta… I didn't expect to make Jack a Reaper, but I suppose it's fitting. Let me know what you think of my idea of the Hierarchy of the Spirits, and what you think of the entire Reaper idea. I'd write more, but I now need to go to work. *pouts*_**

 ** _On the other hand, that's the fourth update this morning! Wow, I'm on a roll! I've written 6,843 words in four hours! Whoo! So I hope you've enjoyed this. Next chapter should bring in that horrible thing Jack's been hinting at all story long. ^^ So look forward to the pain and torture I'm going to put our favorite Winter Spirit through._**

 ** _(Wow, that probably sounded really twisted if you aren't familiar with my writing style [I specialize in angst])._**

 ** _Shoutout to anyone who gets the Hetalia/Memories of Old references in here!_**

 ** _Words: 2,445_**

 ** _Pages: 5_**

 ** _Posted: 04/11/2019_**


	14. Chapter 14: A Boy With No Name

**_Chapter 14: A Boy With No Name_**

The memory faded to darkness for a moment, before it brightened to show Frost flying over a densely forested area. Jack froze, recognizing a nearby town.

"MiM… You'd better not be showing them what I think you're showing them." Jack warned, sending a glare at the sky.

 _"Guardians… Jack is 222 in this memory."_

"No." Jack stated firmly. "You can show them _anything else_ , but don't you _dare_ show them this." He argued. The Guardians turned towards their youngest member in confusion. Sandy raised a golden question mark.

 _"Jack… they must. I'm sorry."_

"Oh, you're _sorry_ , are you?" Jack shot back with a sneer. "As if making me watch all this again isn't bad enough! Fine, whatever. I can handle it. Not like it's any worse than you _completely ignoring_ me for Death knows how long. But there's _no reason_ to make me relive the _worst_ most _painful_ memories of my life. None. I'd rather die again, thanks."

"Worst memories?" Tooth paled.

"MiM… I swear, if you show them this… I will _never_ forgive you." Jack finally stated after several long moments of silence. Nobody dared to breathe. Then, the memory continued, picking up where it left off.

The Guardians blinked in shock. MiM wasn't usually so impersonal with them, but it appeared that Jack was always a special case.

 _"For what it's worth, I truly am sorry."_ MiM replied.

"It isn't worth much anymore." Jack scoffed, pulling up his hood. "It's 1934. January."

"What is problem?" North asked quietly, not seeing anything out of place. Frost flew over to the town. People were milling about in the evening, enjoying the light snowfall.

Jack didn't answer. Instead, he just pointed to Frost as he looked around. "I haven't seen this town before, have you, Kaze?" He went to take a step forward, when he suddenly swayed on his feet, looking abruptly ill. He leaned against the wall of a nearby building for a moment before shaking his head. "What the…? That was weird." He muttered to himself.

He went to take a step forward when a nearby child bounded around the corner, playing some sort of game. He wasn't watching where he was going, but to the shock of the Guardians, instead of passing through Frost, he bumped right into him.

"Sorry, mister!" The kid grinned up at Frost, who stood there in shock.

"Y-you can… see me?" He trembled.

"Huh? Well, yeah. You're standin' right there! If you're playing hide-and-seek, you aren't too good at it." The child laughed.

"Marion!" A woman called out to the child. "I'm so sorry, sir, I…" The woman trailed off as she took in Frost's white hair and otherworldly blue eyes.

"She… can see you?" Tooth blinked. "But she's not a child!"

"That's the thing, Tooth. In this town… whether you're a spirit or a human… has no meaning." Jack answered. His eyes were cold and dark, and his signature smirk was nowhere to be seen.

"D-d-DEMON!" The woman cried out. "The white haired demon has been reborn!" She immediately grabbed her child and pulled him away.

"Wh-what?! Demon! N-no! I'm Jack Frost! I'm a spirit!" Frost protested, but the townspeople all formed a ring around him. They sent him hateful glares, and jeering words. Frost made a move to fly away, but a villager threw a rock at him, and it hit his hand just right so his staff fell out of his grasp. A quick hand snatched it, taking away his only chance to escape.

"J-Jack…?" Tooth was scared. The Guardians only ever really dealt with children, so the worst they'd seen was aftermath of abuse. They hardly ever saw any violence from adults firsthand.

"These people… They have a custom. Every few generations, a child is born with white hair and blue eyes. They believe that this child is cursed, and houses a devil inside. They then blame everything on this kid, and keep him as a… erm… an outlet, of sorts." Jack's voice was quiet, but the Guardians caught every word.

"You mean… they _torture_ kids?!" Bunny cried out, aghast.

"Yeah. And I just happened to fit that description." Jack nodded. "There's this weird barrier around that town. Spirits… become visible to humans. Our powers are weakened considerably. If I'd been a normal Sprite or Spirit, I'd have had no access to any powers at all." He looked upon the scene and grimaced. "Then again, that may have been a better alternative."

Frost looked panicked. And as someone waved a nearby torch too close, he reacted in fear. Ice crept out from his bare feet, and the wind howled in rage.

"The demon's using his powers! Quickly! Before he kills us all!" Someone cried.

The memory darkened.

"What… just happened?" North's voice echoed eerily in the dark space surrounding them.

"I got knocked out. Someone hit me upside the head with something. Next thing I knew, I came to with a shackle on my wrist in some sort of dungeon." Jack sighed. Baby Tooth snuggled closer to Jack's cheek, trying to comfort him somehow.

"You shouldn't watch this, Baby Tooth. It's not something I want you to see." He sighed, but the tiny fairy protested immensely. "No, it's not because I don't think you can handle it. It's that you shouldn't _have_ to." Jack looked up. "Any of you."

"Like it or not, Manny wants us to see this. We don't have a choice." Bunny cut in.

"Yeah, cause this whole thing's a blizzard of fun." Jack sighed.

The memory came back, showing a very thin Frost sitting against a dirty cell wall. It must've been some time after the last memory, because he was dressed in dirty yellowish clothing that must've been white at one point. It was filthy, stained with blood in various locations. Frost, himself, was covered in injuries, and he had a defeated air about him. His right wrist had a cold metal shackle tightened around it, and it was crusted with dried blood. Likely from chafing. His white hair had dried blood in it, and there were pieces of bamboo broken off under his toenails.

In all, he looked like hell. And several Guardians looked simultaneously angry, horrified, and nauseous at the sight.

"That's… what…" Bunny couldn't form a coherent sentence.

"That's me." Jack informed as his past self carefully removed the bamboo from under his nails, causing North to shudder.

"No… that is painful." North shook his head.

"They'd just finished another punishment." Jack explained, gesturing to several lacerations adorning Frost, including a very fresh cut on his left cheek.

Sudden movement from outside his cell made Frost look up warily, but he was careful to keep his gaze lower, so as not to anger anyone who might've hurt him. His submissive air infuriated the Pooka for seemingly no reason.

If any of the Guardians were to look over and see Sandy at that moment, they'd never look at the golden man the same again. So angry, was he, that some of his sand had become black with his desire to harm. Sandy made himself take a very deep breath and count to sixty before he let the Nightmare Sand fade back into its usual gold.

"Hello?" A young girl's voice called out.

Jack didn't bother to stop the tear that fell down his face. "Ai…" He smiled softly.

"Ai? Is that that girl's name?" Bunny asked, and Jack nodded. He wiped away his frozen tear.

 _Who's calling me?_ Frost's voice rung out, though his lips did not move.

"Great. Now we're hearing my thoughts. Wonderful." Jack huffed.

"I'm Ai." The girl stepped out into the dim light. She had long white hair, and blue eyes, and she wore the same outfit that Frost wore. She looked relatively unharmed, though she was covered in bruises. "What's your name?" She asked.

Frost looked down. _As if I have one anymore. They've taken even that away from me._ He looked up.

"Did you hear me? I want to know your name." She spoke again, now standing in his cell. The door was open, and the Guardians assumed she'd picked the lock. She had a shackle around her ankle.

"How terrible." Tooth had tears running down her face. "That anyone could do this to a child… to two children…" She looked over at Jack.

 _I have no name…_ Frost thought, opening his mouth to show the girl why he was silent. _And no tongue._

"They… they cut out your… your tongue?!" Bunny stuttered, horrified.

"Yeah… But cool thing… Spirits can regrow that stuff, apparently. Though it took decades… Do you have any idea how hard it is to eat without a tongue?" Jack crossed his arms.

"So they took that from you? I'm sorry." Ai looked down. "They almost took mine, but…" She shuddered. "They found uses… At any rate, come on. You don't like it here, do you?" Frost shook his head slowly, not understanding what she was getting at. "Let's go together." She grinned, holding out a hand to him.

 _We can… leave?_ His eyes were wide. _Why? Why would you do this for me?_ He stared in shock, even as she managed to break a link in the chain of his shackle. She led him up a very narrow steep staircase, and Frost blinked in the sudden sunlight. Though it was overcast, he hadn't seen the light of day in months.

"It's late November, now." Jack explained numbly.

"You were there for nearly a year?!" Tooth cried out in shock. "Surely, someone would've…"

"Would've noticed? Would've cared? Not likely, Tooth. Or did you miss the last two hundred years that everyone wanted me dead?"

"I… I didn't mean it like that…" Fresh tears started to well up in her eyes, and Baby Tooth sent Jack a scornful look.

"That was uncalled for." Bunny admonished.

"What, the truth? Look, I'm sorry that you don't like it, and yeah, maybe I could've said it a bit nicer. But I'm trying _very_ hard not to fall into some rather traumatic flashbacks, so if you could… oh, I don't know, maybe _not_ drag out this nightmare? I _did_ mention that these are my _worst_ memories, didn't I?" Jack snapped, sending a glare. "You know what? Maybe I'll just hang out with Sandy over here." He huffed, stomping over to the golden man.

Sandy patted Jack's shoulder and ran through several images and handsigns.

"Thanks, man… But no. As much as I'd love to sleep through this one…" His gaze landed on Ai… "I don't wanna miss a single moment of her." Sandy nodded.

The two children ran around outside, and played as children should. _Why won't you stop? Don't you know… If they find out… you'll be killed._ Frost's thoughts echoed loudly.

"Ahh…" He tried to voice his thoughts, but no coherent words would come out. Ai turned to look at him.

"Don't worry about me. I _want_ to do this. Come on! Let's play some more!" She laughed and carefully dragged him along, even as a light drizzle started to fall. At one point, Frost gave her a soft smile and caught her attention. He poked a tree, and frost started to creep around the bark.

"Whoa! You can make ice?! That's so cool!" She grinned, and he couldn't help but smile back. As the day turned to night, the two continued playing. The longer it went, the more they started to see the Jack Frost that they knew. Frost was now grinning and laughing, and the wind blew around the two children happily, glad to have its friend back.

"You don't have a name, right?" She asked, and Frost shook his head. "Then I'll give you one! How about Riku!" She laughed, and Frost returned the smile. _Riku, huh? Jack Riku Frost. Yeah… Riku will be my_ real _name, now._

As the sun rose, the two stopped atop a hill to watch the light of a new day come forth. They held hands, and Frost had a light blush on his face. _Is this… love?_ He questioned mentally.

Luckily, the Guardians had the sense to ignore that thought. Jack was grateful that they didn't tease him.

"Gotcha!" A large burly man held Ai up by the neck, as she was ripped away from Frost forcefully.

"RIKU!" Ai called out, reaching a hand out desperately towards her friend. The man laughed as he tightened his hold around her neck. Frost's eyes flashed angrily as he charged the man, only to be shoved roughly away. His injuries and malnutrition weakened him too much… he was helpless.

The man held up a dagger. "You think you have the right to do as you please, huh? You're _my_ property, demon wench! And if I can't have you…" He smirked sickly at Frost. "Then nobody can!"

 _If only it could just be the two of us…_ Frost thought desperately. _If only everyone else… would just disappear…_ The man plunged the knife into Ai.

"AAAAAAIIII!" He cried out, though the name was heavily slurred due to his lack of tongue. For a moment, the world froze.

 ** _Disappear._** The voice didn't sound like Frost's. **_Disappear… disappear… make them all… disappear…_**

A very dark, cold, sinister expression shadowed Frost's face, and his eyes became colder than anything the Guardians had ever seen. The expression could only be described as murderous.

The man took a step back, unnerved by this sudden change in demeanor. "Y-you will listen to me!" He demanded.

 ** _No… you will listen to_** **me** ** _, you pitiful human._** The thought sounded like several voices layered atop one another. Like a crowd speaking in unison.

"What… _is_ that?!" Bunny shivered.

"This… this is what happens when I snap." Jack looked down, ashamed. "And that's not all."

Frost held out a hand towards the man. **_Disappear._** He mentally commanded. A moment later, fire burst forth from the boy's hand. He should've startled. He should've been uncomfortable enough with the heat to step back. Instead, he stared calmly at the fire dancing merrily in the palm of his hand.

He looked at the village. As if sensing his thoughts, the fire spread faster than it should've. It burned the grassy plains that the two had played in, and eagerly started to feast upon the houses and residents of the village. Women, men, children, and pets.

Voices filled the air as the fire drowned out the sun. He watched coolly as screams for help fell upon deaf ears. He looked down at Ai, a single tear falling onto her face.

Her eyes were still open. A small smile on her face, even in death. Frost looked at her for a long moment, before sending out a particularly happy looking flame to burn her body. As she was reduced to ash, his thoughts rang out loudly for the Guardians to hear.

 _Ai… may you travel far and see this world that has shunned you. May you always be free._

He went back down into the cellar that had served as his prison for the past year. In the back room, was a bedroom. There, mounted on the wall, was his staff.

He reverently picked it up. The moment he touched it, the fire in his eyes died down. His expression changed into one that made him recognizable as Jack Frost. His eyes widened as he limped back up the stairs, mindful of his own injuries. He stared at the burning village in shock.

 _But…_ he reasoned, _that curse is now gone. There will never be another demon child. And never again… will they harm another._ A smirk donned his features as he turned on his heel, and called forth the wind silently.

He flew off, vanishing into the air.

The Guardians thought the memory would end there. But it didn't. Instead, it phased into another. Frost was still flying, and he wore the same clothes he had in the last memory. He looked exhausted, and didn't seem to have had any of his injuries treated.

Just when he was about to collapse, he caught sight of a golden glint. _Sandy…_

Said golden man's eyes widened in realization.

Frost quickly made a beeline for the golden cloud of his friend. Sanderson waved to Frost, unable to see his injuries from this distance, but when the white-haired boy almost fell out of the sky, the friendly smile turned into one of fierce concern.

Sanderson barely caught Frost before he hit the ground. The blizzard blew around them, a testament to Frost's emotional state. Sanderson tried to ask what was wrong, when he caught sight of the blood. The injuries caused by several months of abuse and neglect. Steam poured out of his ears, and some of his sand took on a red tinge in his anger.

He carefully and kindly treated Frost's injuries as best he could. He did not miss how he flinched at every touch. Or whimpered whenever he created an object to help him tend to the wounds.

When he caught sight of the shackle, his anger vanished, replaced by horror and sorrow. He used his sand to carefully break the shackle from the inside. It fell to the ground with a quiet thump, revealing the raw bloody skin beneath. Sanderson cupped his hands around the wrist as tears poured down his face.

Frost looked up at his friend and shook his head. _Please don't cry for me, Sandy…_

A golden question mark appeared as he pointed to Frost's mouth. The white-haired youth shook his head, and made a motion that was commonly understood to mean 'mute'. Sanderson picked up his now tended to companion and gently laid him down on a soft golden bed upon his cloud.

Frost looked up at him, confused. He made a motion for Frost to sleep. He nodded, and thanked him silently.

Just before the winter spirit drifted off to sleep, the unthinkable happened.

Sanderson Mansnoozie, spoke. "Sleep well, Jack. I will watch over you tonight." In that moment, hundreds of children all over the world stirred in their sleep, their good dreams interrupted for a brief moment, before they settled back into their slumber.

The Guardians stared in wide-eyed shock. "Y-you _spoke_!" Bunny accused.

Sandy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, so?" Jack voiced Sandy's silent words.

"Your voice is so smooth and deep and calming~!" Tooth grinned. "I wish we could hear you speak more often!"

Sandy shook his head and made a shush motion.

"If he speaks, he'll wake up the kids of the world. He can't give out good dreams and talk at the same time, so it's one or the other. The moment he speaks, all good dreams he's given out are interrupted, so the kids wake up." Jack informed.

"That is good to know." North nodded.

Frost closed his eyes, as Sanderson sprinkled some very bright golden sand over his friend. In the Dreamcloud above the winter child, two children played, and nobody else existed but them.

 ** _A/N: So it's finally done! I finally did the scene that inspired this entire story! Hah! If you couldn't recognize it, this was based off the Vocaloid song, "Six Trillion Years and an Overnight Story" (yeah, I know… long title). Search it up on YouTube! It's great! I wrote this chapter (and the four before it) while listening to the orchestral version of the song, which I found on Soundcloud. ^^_**

 ** _Again, we got to see more Sandy/Jack fluff! And now, SANDY HAS SPOKEN! And the world is in shock. And the guardians have now been sufficiently traumatized._**

 ** _Hope you've enjoyed this chapter. I know it was fun to write. ^^_**

 ** _Words: 3,168_**

 ** _Pages: 7_**

 ** _Posted: 04/12/2019_**


	15. Chapter 15: The Blizzard of '68

**_Chapter 15: The Blizzard of '68_**

It'd been four days since the last memory. The Guardians had been unable to talk about what they'd seen. They couldn't understand how Jack could be so happy and carefree after _living through_ something so traumatic. And even after all that…

Jack had shut himself away in his bedroom for the first day, and he only let Sandy inside. Even Baby Tooth was exiled, much to her displeasure. The day after that, however, things returned to normal. He acted like nothing had happened at all, which bothered the Guardians more than they were willing to admit.

Jack, on the other hand, was completely fine. Sure, those memories were _extremely_ private and he _loathed_ having the Guardians watch them, and yeah… he was sort of re-traumatized by it, but he'd spent that whole first day with Sandy… He knew that Sandy wouldn't pity him or baby him like the other Guardians would. Even Baby Tooth would pity him. He _hated_ pity.

Though some tiny part of him was secretly happy that the Guardians felt so guilty. Because it was partially _their_ fault. Because they'd left him _alone_.

Jack violently shook his head. _Go. Away._ He growled mentally. He swore he heard a dark chuckle at the edge of his mind, but that was all. After a moment, he relaxed.

"Jack? Sweetie? Are you doing okay?" Tooth asked, popping her head into the kitchen. He mentally sighed. _I suppose they couldn't keep their mouths shut forever._

"I'm fine." He gave her a grin.

"I mean… I think we all need to talk about…" She trailed off, unsure how to put it into words.

"No. I really don't think we do." Jack's expression became somewhat cold.

"Mate, listen, I know it wasn't something you wanted us to see, but—"

"No. It wasn't something I wanted _anyone_ to see." Jack cut off the Pooka, irritated. "I'm _fine_ , now. And if it makes you feel better, I talked about it with Sandy. _I'm. Fine._ "

"Jack…" North started, but Jack had had enough.

"Could you maybe just _listen_ to me for a second?! That happened a while ago, okay?! Yeah, it was traumatic, and sure, I've got some kind of PTSD from it. But I was fine before you butted in, and I'm fine now. Just because you suddenly know about it, doesn't change the fact that _it's already happened._ " He stressed. "And guess what?! You can't actually _fix_ the damage that's already been _dealt_." He glared at the three Guardians. "You wanna _help_ me?! You wanna make it right?! You want me to just up and suddenly _trust_ you?! Maybe you can start by trusting _me_ first. Oh, wait. You've already proven that you can't."

The three looked between one another, a sinking feeling in their stomachs as Sandy tilted his head, confused.

"Don't know what I'm talking about?" Jack scoffed, shaking his head. "How about this one hit. You. Were. _Wrong_." With that, he spun around and went to leave the room. "I'll give you an hour before we continue these memories. We're nearly caught up. Just the Blizzard and Pitch, now. I don't want to hear you bring this up again. This is your _only_ warning."

The Guardians looked at one another. Tooth was the first to realize what Jack had meant, and tears started pouring down her face before she knew what was happening.

"Oh, no… You don't think…?" She looked at Bunny. "Easter…"

"You mean it wasn't…?" Bunny's heart sank. "No… I mean, surely we didn't get it _that_ wrong…"

"I am thinking that we have…" North agreed, his face red with shame.

Sandy formed a question mark above his head, but his annoyed symbols were ignored by the other three, as per usual.

As promised, an hour later, the break room suddenly vanished, causing Bunny, who'd been sitting on the couch, to fall to the ground with a startled yelp.

Jack's laughter echoed around the darkness as he saw this. "Aww, looks like the Easter Kangaroo missed his step."

"Shut up, ya bloody show pony!"

Jack just laughed and leaned against his staff with an amused smirk. The world around them shifted and swirled before fading into a warm spring day. There were a few patches of snow, but new sprouts of grass told the Guardians that it was Spring.

Jack flinched. "This is 1968. The day before Easter." He shuddered.

"Ya mean…" Bunny's sick feeling grew.

"All the snow is melting…" Frost sighed. "I still think the eggs would pop against the snow, but… I suppose I shouldn't mess with someone else's holiday…" He shuddered, hard. "I don't wanna incur any wrath from other seasons, after all." He rubbed his left leg, which the Guardians noticed seemed to be hurting him a bit.

"Jack… had you been attacked again?" Tooth asked, worried.

"Yeah, but it was about two weeks beforehand. My broken leg was almost totally healed." Jack shrugged, used to such injuries.

"You say that _way_ too casually, mate." Bunny muttered.

"I guess I'll go over to the Southern Hemisphere, then. Winter's closing in down under, and it's about time I make my migration down there." Frost smirked, thinking of all the awesome snow days he was gonna give the kids.

So into his own thoughts, was he that he wasn't paying attention to where he was walking. He'd walked out onto a frozen lake. He froze when he heard the tell-tale sound of ice cracking underfoot. His heart pounded as a look of sheer terror overtook his features.

In his panic, he didn't call the wind. He couldn't think. And before much else could be done, the ice gave way and Frost was pulled underneath the water just like he was when he died.

The Guardians panicked as Frost went under. He thrashed and flailed, trying to find which way was up, but only succeeded in tiring himself out. _HELP!_ His thoughts echoed around the darkening memory. _I'm scared! Someone! Anyone…! Help me… I don't… want to die…_

The Guardians winced. "Jack…" Tooth held his shoulder, worried about their youngest member. Jack trembled lightly under her touch, but aside from that, he appeared fine.

For a moment, it seemed like Frost was going to actually die. Then, a bright blue-white light flash-froze the water around him. The impact of the magical power forced the water away from the drowning winter child, freezing it in a tunnel-like form so he could reach the sky once more.

He gulped in air greedily, making himself light-headed. Frost wasted no time in climbing out of what would've been his watery grave, and crawled in a panicked state to shore. He collapsed against the bank, grasping blades of grass tightly in his fists. He looked much paler than usual, and his eyes were dilated.

He coughed violently, expelling water from his lungs before his body rejected the contents of his stomach.

The Guardians watched in horror as he huddled into a ball, alone, and sobbed. He was inconsolable. His fear and panic at his near death experience was entirely understandable, but his emotions kicked up a massive blizzard.

By the time Frost realized what he was doing, it was already too late. "No! Easter's tomorrow! The children… they'll never find the eggs in this much—!" He was forced to stop by a terrible cough that racked his entire body. He went to raise his staff to help calm the storm, only to realize he didn't have it.

 _My staff!_ He looked back to the lake in horror. He went to make a move towards the body of water, but found himself trembling in fear. There was no way he was going to be able to retrieve his staff.

Bunny's heart tightened. _It was an accident. It was all a huge misunderstanding… and instead of helping a child that nearly died… I blamed him… yelled at him… I scorned him for something beyond his own control… What kind of Guardian am I?_

Despite all this, Frost attempted to reign in the storm. His eyes narrowed in fierce concentration, as he held up his hands. He trembled, struggling to keep his arms up against the raging storm. _It's so difficult… my staff… I can't do this without it…_ He realized, as he collapsed to his knees, coughing violently.

The Guardians were horrified to see red fall from the boy's mouth and stain the white surface beneath him.

Then, they noticed something in the storm. The outline of what looked like a person. The dark figure's features were indistinguishable in the raging blizzard, and Frost looked up. "No… Go away." He begged, clutching his head as another coughing fit overtook him. "I won't… let you…"

An eerie, dark laugh echoed throughout the memory. "You won't _let_ me? Oh, but Jackie… _I'm_ the one who lets _you_." The figure grinned before vanishing in the sea of white.

"Jack?" Tooth turned to Jack in confusion and worry. That didn't seem like a Summer spirit…

Jack, however, stayed stubbornly silent.

Frost suddenly cried out in pain before the entire memory went black. Before the Guardians could say anything, the memory came back. The sky was a brilliant blue color, and snow covered the area. Frost lay almost peacefully on a bank of snow. He sat up with a groan and held his head gingerly, staving off a migraine.

"What happened…?" He blinked in confusion before abruptly remembering. "The storm!" He looked around wildly, only to see that the damage was already done. "No… it's… it's Easter…" He stared in despair before staggering to his feet.

He took several steps forward when his foot bumped against something. Curiously, he bent down and picked up his staff. "But I thought it was still…" He stared in confusion before a horrified look overcame him and he clutched the staff like a lifeline. "So he really _did_ …"

"Who did what?" North asked. He felt like he was missing something extremely important. But Jack remained stubbornly silent.

"YOU!" Bunnymund's voice sounded as he hopped onto the scene, causing Frost to whirl around in shock.

Bunny's ears flattened. "Oh no…" It all made sense, now. He'd thought he'd done it on purpose, but… to see it from Jack's point of view changed _everything_ he thought he knew about that day. He'd messed up—big time.

"How could ya?!" Bunnymund roared, stopping less than two feet from the frightened winter spirit. "It's _SPRING!_ What the _hell_ were you thinking?! Easter is about new beginnings and _hope_ , and you've gone and ruined it all! Your selfishness has cost these _children_ their _Easter_! I hope you're happy with yourself! You've _ruined_ part of these kids' _childhood!_ And for what?! A little snow? Bugger off." Bunnymund paused for a moment to reign in some of his anger. He looked ready to throw a punch at the spirit, but thought better of it. "If I _evah_ see ya messin with my holiday again…" He let his threat hang in the air as the visibly scared Frost shook. Bunnymund glared so fiercely at Frost that he flinched, as if afraid of being struck.

Bunny saw it this time around. At the time, he'd thought that maybe the kid was just realizing his mistake. But now… the way he looked at Bunnymund… It was obvious that he was scared out of his mind… he was _afraid_ of a _Guardian_. Because he thought Bunnymund was going to hurt him.

And after what he'd gone through… after that hell he'd been put through in that cursed town, and then nearly drowning, and that storm mess… Then the first thing he sees when he wakes up is someone who blames him for it… It was no wonder the kid didn't like him… Bunny's ears drooped with guilt. He felt _centuries_ older. _I should'a noticed… I should'a been there for 'im…_

"I-I'm sorry… It was an accident…" Frost tried to defend himself, but Bunnymund wouldn't hear of it.

"No. No it wasn't. Don't you _dare_ try to wiggle outta this one. You're irresponsible, selfish, and _dangerous_. Why anyone decided to make you a spirit—let alone a _winter_ spirit—is beyond me. I hope you're retired soon."

"BUNNY!" Tooth gasped in horror.

"I'm sorry… I was so… _so_ wrong…" Bunny whimpered lightly. Jack's head whipped up in shock.

"Wha? Wrong? About what?" Jack was so confused.

"A-about everything! You aren't irresponsible or selfish or any of that." Bunny sighed. "You're probably one of the most responsible people here."

Jack couldn't help the dry laugh that bubbled from his chest. "But Bunny… I _am_ dangerous. I'm unnecessary and unwanted. My entire existence is a fluke. I'm selfish and immature. I'm a mistake." He smiled softly, letting his bangs shadow his eyes. "That's just who I am."

"No Jack." North spoke up softly. "You are not unwanted. You are not a mistake. You are not selfish, and I am so sorry that you have never been told different." He reached over and pulled a startled Jack into a hug.

"Wha?!"

"Oh, Sweet Tooth…" Tooth wiped away tears. " _We_ want you."

Jack startled and looked up at her, confusion shining in his eyes. "Why?"

That one question broke their hearts. No child should have to ask why someone would want them.

"Because you're family, mate. We may fight, but… we're family. And we love each other." Bunny spoke up. "What I said was wrong… on so many levels. But I see different now. You're an amazing person…" He blushed and looked away. "An-and… er… y-you're someone I'm happy to have as a kid brother."

"Aww… Bunny… you _do_ care." Jack spoke softly, a light smile on his face. "You're still a kangaroo, though."

"An' yer still a bloody showpony!" Bunny shot back.

Sandy smiled. Maybe they'd finally be able to recover? He watched as the memory faded away, leaving Frost flying on the Wind with tears in his eyes as Jack was nestled in a warm hug from North, his own eyes suspiciously wet.

Maybe this time… They could do things right.

 ** _A/N: Well hello there! It's been a while! I've had a number of requests to update this story next, so here you are! ^^ We're just about to the movie, which will be broken up into multiple chapters. I will not detail the entire movie! Just the parts I feel are important. And of course, I may make a few changes to a couple of things in the movie. Nothing major, but I'll add some realism. Like, say, injuries. Or, say, thoughts/emotions that may not have been addressed or noted in the movie. Because it's a kid's movie. And we all know they downplay the real stuff._**

 ** _Hope you've enjoyed this chapter~! Now, I'm off to work (again)._**

 ** _Words: 2,352_**

 ** _Pages: 5_**

 ** _Posted: 08/08/2019_**


	16. Chapter 16: The Enemy Within

**_Chapter 16: The Enemy Within_**

The next memory abruptly came in, and it didn't look like a good one. For one, Jack was holed up in a cave somewhere, with a nice blizzard raging outside. For another, he was clutching his staff and his head rather tightly.

"Jack? What's wrong?" Tooth asked, concern lacing her voice.

" _Go Away!_ " Frost growled out, glaring at a figure standing in the storm beyond the mouth of the cave. Their features were indiscernible in the thick wall of snow.

"You came all the way out here to Antarctica so I wouldn't hurt anybody? Ha. That's cute." The figure's voice was cold and somewhat familiar. It tickled the guardians' minds.

"Who _are_ you anyways?! Why are you in my head!?" Frost cried out, frustrated.

"In your… head?" Bunny had a sinking feeling that that village did more damage to their Jack than they first realized.

"Haha… But you already know, Jackie." The figure stepped into the cavern, and the Guardians couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

He looked like a mirror image of Frost, but instead of white hair, it was black flecked with ash grey, and his eyes were a deep, haunting red that glowed like embers.

Jack sighed, resigning himself to the Guardians learning of him.

"I am Jokul Frosti." He grinned.

"Wait… Jokul… isn't that what some cultures call you?" Tooth puzzled.

"I'm _nothing_ like him." Jack spat quietly.

"J-Jokul?" Frost repeated.

"Yes… I suppose you could say I'm _you_."

"What, like a split or something?" Frost obviously hadn't been serious about his comment, but the grin that came from Jokul made the white-haired boy startle. "Y-you mean you're seriously a split personality?! I'm really that crazy?"

The Guardians shifted uneasily.

"I'm a bit more than a simple _split_ , boy. I'm your darker side. The side of you that _enjoys_ what you do—killing, reaping, _watching that village burn_."

"That voice was you!" Frost realized. "That… the fire…?"

Jokul grinned as he formed a flame in his hand. "You mean this?" He shoved it closer to Frost, who flinched away from the heat.

"But I'm _winter_ … No part of me should be able to control flames!" Frost protested.

"I puzzled over that, too, for a little bit. But you know what I realized? That place… that town we burned to the ground… it had a magic of its own—which is why you were corporeal there. In your moment of grief and anger, you absorbed that magic, creating _me_. And that _burning_ anger and hatred that you harbored towards those villagers? That's what I was formed around. You can go around and pretend to be Mr. Innocent, but I'm the proof that you aren't."

"Y-You're wrong! GO AWAY! I don't WANT you here!"

"And yet you've been begging for companionship for nearly three hundred years. Now that it's finally here, are you really going to shove me away so easily?"

"I'm not like you! I don't take pleasure in watching people suffer." Frost bit back angrily, as ice crept out from his bare feet.

"And _yet_ , you still watched that village burn, didn't you? You let _children_ burn without a second thought."

"No! _You_ did!" Frost denied.

"No, Jack. _We_ did." Jokul grinned as he vanished. " ** _I'm always here, Jackie… And the moment you decide to give in to those urges… I'll be waiting._** "

The Guardians found themselves abruptly back in the break room, and Jack was looking _anywhere_ but them.

"Jack—" North started, but Jack cut him off.

"Go ahead." His voice was quiet and bitter, and it made the other four pause. "Say it. I'm crazy. I'm barking mad, and it terrifies you, right? I have no right to be a Guardian with a freaking _madman_ in my head." Jack clenched his staff, hood up. He refused to turn and look at the Guardians.

"Mate, that isn't what we're going to say." Bunny stepped forward, placing a paw on his shoulder, causing the frost child to flinch.

"Why not?"

"Because we _aren't_ scared of you."

"You should be."

"Why? Because you've been through so much that your mind had ta make another you ta cope? It isn't your fault, mate. We don't hate ya. We aren't going ta kick ya out or anythin'. You're still a Guardian."

Jack's gaze whipped up to the Pooka, showing the tears frozen on his cheeks.

"Bunny is right!" North smiled. "Even I have had other self at one point. Though that is story for different time."

"E-even _you_ , North?" Jack blinked up at the man in surprise.

"Yes! Even me!"

"Jack. We've all been through our fair share of bad times. Some of us handled it better than others… And after what you've been through, it really isn't that shocking to find out that something like this has happened. But you aren't alone anymore, Sweet Tooth. We're still here for you." Tooth looked ready to fly over and give Jack a hug, but Sandy stopped her.

Jack was somewhat scared. Sandy was the only one that'd been by him for nearly his whole life. What if this was the last straw?

Sandy held up his hands and signed to Jack. _'I'm here for you, Snowflake. No matter what, I'll be by your side. And if he ever comes out, I'll put him to sleep, okay?'_

Jack teared up a little more, nodding his thanks as his words caught in his throat. Sandy pulled the winter child into a gentle hug.

"Thank you." Jack sobbed. Was this what family was like? It'd been so long since he'd felt this warm inside, he'd nearly forgotten.

Sandy ran his fingers through Jack's hair. "We are here for you, Jack." Sandy spoke aloud, startling the other Guardians.

"S-Sandy! You spoke!" North gasped.

"Time's stopped. The kids won't wake up." Jack realized, wiping away the icicles forming on his chin from his tears. Sandy nodded. "But it's difficult because you're so used to _not_ speaking, and it hurts your voice, right?" Jack guessed, and the golden man smiled.

"You're worth it." Sandy whispered in Jack's ear, causing the winter child to chuckle. Sandy smiled. Jack looked much better with a smile on his face.

"I think someone is in need of cookies!" North grinned, causing Jack's smile to widen a little.

"Oh, _fine_. Sugar just this _once_." Tooth relented, and Baby Tooth cheered, only to freeze when Tooth shot her a confused look. "Baby Tooth? You've never _had_ sugar, right?"

Baby Tooth was quick to get out of there, hiding in Jack's hoodie and squeaking some kind of excuse that was a little too fast for Jack to translate in his head.

"Jack? You wouldn't happen to have given Baby Tooth _sugar_ , would you?" Tooth's smile was too sweet, and Jack immediately hid behind the much larger Pooka.

"Oh no. You ain't usin me as your shield against the Sheila!" Bunny denied, but Jack didn't listen.

"It was just some hot cocoa!" Jack defended.

"JACKSON FROST, GET BACK HERE!" Tooth gave chase, causing Jack to flee to the kitchen.

"NORTH! TOOTH SAYS HOT COCOA IS WRONG AND COOKIES SUCK!" Jack shouted out, and North whirled on the fairy.

"I did not!" She tried, but it was too late. North was already in argument mode, always quick to defend his precious cookies, and Jack had made a clean getaway.

Bunny was too busy laughing with Sandy about the whole thing.

"Any clue what's comin' next?" Bunny asked as Jack came to sit with them to watch the fireworks of North vs. Tooth.

"I think it'll start with you stuffing me in a sack and tossing me through a magic portal." Jack chuckled.

"I think I remember that." Bunny grinned, leaning against the winter spirit.

"You should. You seemed to be having a blast with it." Jack chuckled.

"Well, you _are_ the Spirit of Fun. It's kinda hard not ta have fun around ya."

"Thanks for the compliment ~" Jack grinned.

"Anytime, Frostbite." Bunny ruffled Jack's hair, earning a surprised smile from the kid. _I won't lose any more family._ The Pooka decided. _And now, Jack's included in that._


End file.
